


Product of Us

by cocinerosyco



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:12:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28520688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cocinerosyco/pseuds/cocinerosyco
Summary: Just when you think you've adjusted to the way things are, life throws you curveballs. Like falling in love with two people at the same time.
Relationships: David Cook/David Archuleta/Neal Tiemann





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for LiveJournal's RPF Big Bang in 2010. It should be abundantly clear from the first few scenes that I have never worked in academia. I have been held hostage by a tuba/guitar musical performance while studying in a college coffee shop, however.

"Can't believe you dragged me to this thing," Neal mumbled, unsure that he would even be heard over the bass heavy hip hop blasting over the stereo system's speakers.  
  
Dave had better hearing than he thought though, because he turned to Neal with the cheesiest grin on his face. "Guess you must really love me or something."  
  
Neal rolled his eyes and looked back across the room. That was a given. But he felt that if he was being dragged along to college mixers, he should at least be getting laid at some point. Of course, on the other hand, if he was getting laid, no one would be dragging him to these things. "Why the fuck are we here anyway?"  
  
"New crop of grad students," Dave replied, as if that explained anything. Then Neal noticed that Dave's attention was all the way across the room where a blonde in a sundress was standing by the bar. Figured. "And you really didn't have to come, you know."  
  
"Yeah, well. I'm here to make you look good." Neal scoped out the room as he said it. Truth was, he wanted to hang out with Dave and while it wouldn't have been his first choice of location, it had been a long week and it would do.  
  
"Aw, Doc. I make _you_ look good." Dave grinned cheekily. Neal rolled his eyes, but he felt a little warmer at the response.  
  
"I believe I'm going to go get a drink. Back in a few." Neal watched as Dave strode purposefully over to the bar, asked the bartender for a beer and then proceeded to chat up the blonde, leaving Neal by himself. Back in a few my ass, Neal thought.  
  
Since going anywhere near the bar wasn't an option right now, and fuck, that sucked, because he really could have used a drink right then, Neal made his way over to a quieter corner. At least he could wait out Dave's attempts at seduction without his internal organs being rearranged through the heavy bass.  
  
Neal had barely been sitting for five minutes when a raspy voice spoke up next to him. "Is this seat taken?"  
  
Neal looked up to see a short, dark-haired boy standing beside him, his hand gesturing towards the other end of the couch Neal was sitting on. He looked young, maybe even too young to be present at this party. He had a drink in his hand, but Neal doubted it was alcoholic. His hands were clutched around the cup in his hand. Neal wondered if he was nervous about something. Neal pulled his eyes away from the kid's hands, remembering that he'd asked Neal a question.  
  
"Go ahead. Have a seat."  
  
"Thanks. It's just so loud here. I thought I'd better find a place to sit before I started to lose my hearing." The boy laughed a little at the end of that line, as though it was meant to be funny, but Neal didn't see the joke. Neal turned his attention back to the opposite side of the room, where Dave and the blonde were sitting in a corner, chatting. The boy beside him started humming. Okay, fuck this.  
  
"So, what department are your parents in?" Maybe if he attempted some small talk, he wouldn't sit and stare at Dave, like the masochist he was.  
  
"Hmm?" The boy had a puzzled look on his face "Oh! You think that I - no, I'm a graduate student. In piano performance."  
  
Neal stared at the boy. He had to be about eighteen. Man, they were letting grad students in earlier and earlier these days.  
  
Neal didn't realize he'd said that last thought aloud until the boy laughed. "No, seriously, how old are you? You barely look old enough to drive a car, nevermind already have a college degree."  
  
The boy smiled as he replied "I'm 22. I just finished with my undergraduate degree, so you're not that far off."  
  
Neal found himself wanting to smile back. He felt better, for some reason, that he'd been off on the age. He caught sight of Dave out of the corner of his eye, and quickly turned back to the boy sitting across from him, who was looking at him with a glint of amusement in his eyes. Neal felt his stomach churn and an itch to get out of there. He glanced down at his hands, at the tattoos that had given the hiring committee pause, and as he tended to do, made a quick decision. Of course, quick decisions like that generally led to situations like the predicament with Dave that he currently found himself in.  
  
"Neal Tiemann," he held out his hand. "Composition."  
  
"David Archuleta."  
  
Neal raised an eyebrow. Not that David was an uncommon name, but it seemed strange to be talking to one David in order to avoid thinking about another. However, to the David across from him, he only replied, "Best friend's name is David."  
  
"Oh, well, you can call me Dave, I guess, but I may not answer to that, or you can call me Archie, some of my friends used to call me that." The kid had actually looked troubled by the fact that he shared his name with Dave. And he apparently thought this was going to turn in to some kind of friendship or something. Wouldn't be the strangest friendship he'd formed, Neal supposed. With a mental shrug, he waved off Archie's worry.  
  
"Nah, he's Dave. Archie works, I guess." Across the room, Dave's hand was on the blonde's leg, sliding higher towards the hem of her dress. Fuck, Neal really needed a smoke and then a drink, and possibly another drink, in that order.  
  
"So, composition, huh? It must be interesting. Do you mostly compose instrumental or do you do vocal stuff too?"  
  
Neal turned his attention back to Archie. "Both. When I'm on the clock, here at the university, it's usually instrumental, but I write and arrange for the band that I'm in as well."  
  
"That sounds really cool. I've tried a little songwriting, but it never seems to come out right, haha. I think it's really cool that you do that all the time." Neal would swear, Archie had the most genuine smile he'd seen in a long time. College was full of departmental politics, where people lived to suck up to their department head and Neal had said fuck it to the political game the second he was granted tenure. No one looked this honest where he came from.  
  
"Sometimes it takes a lot of time and patience. If you practice though, it can come to you easier." Neal felt his mood lift a little. What the hell, it's not like he had anywhere to be just then. "What was your bachelor's in?"  
  
Archie's face brightened up and he began to speak about his degree and studies in musical history and cultures, his hands waving around as he did so. Neal didn't think anyone could have that much passion for native Amazonian drumming, but he would have been wrong. The conversation moved from Archie's areas of study, to his instrument, to Neal's various instruments, to Neal's published compositions ("You wrote 'Eroding Time'? That's so cool. It's such a fantastic song."), to the song playing in the room, to the horrible and sad state of the music industry today (in Neal's opinion; Archie was more neutral on the issue). Before Neal realized, it was an hour later and the room was starting to clear out.  
  
"Oh, I guess we should get going. I think they're closing up."  
  
Neal nodded in response. He glanced around for Dave, who was nowhere to be found. That fucker. Neal's mood, brightened by the interesting conversation, took a nosedive.  
  
"So, I'll probably see you around, I guess?" Archie made it into a question, noticing Neal's shitty mood no doubt.  
  
"Yeah, sure. See you around." Neal saw the hopeful look on Archie's face fade away. Fuck. He really needed to stop being such an asshole all the time. He held out his hand, and tried to get what was probably a pretty unfriendly look off his face. "It was nice to meet you." It sounded trite in his head and it sounded trite out loud, but it was really all he had at the moment.  
  
And yet, Archie smiled at him again, shook his hand, and said "Yeah, it was nice to meet you too Neal. I hope we get the chance to do this again."  
  
Neal didn't know how likely that would be, but he nodded and said goodbye to Archie, before grabbing his jacket and heading towards the door. If it wasn't for the admittedly enjoyable conversation he'd had with Archie, Neal would probably have been really pissed just then. Dave had dragged him to this thing, had deserted him not five minutes after they'd arrived, proceeded to chat up a blonde, and had left early, probably to get laid. Definitely to get laid. Neal's mind wouldn't let him get away with "maybe." Fuck it. He decided to let himself feel really fucking annoyed. While his best friend was getting laid, Neal was going to go home, get drunk, try his best not to think about Dave and sex, and pass out in his own bed. Sounded like a plan.  
  
~~~  
  
Departmental meetings sucked in general. Departmental meetings held at seven in the morning were the work of the devil. It wasn't particularly bright outside quite yet, but Neal wore his sunglasses indoors, the fluorescent lights of the conference room exacerbating his headache. He still had his earbuds in from the walk over to the Music building, using them to deter potential conversationalists. Dave had come in the room five minutes earlier, looking wide awake and pleased with himself. Neal took one look at him and decided to keep the earbuds in. By the time the meeting started, Neal's headache was halfway gone, aided by tylenol and caffeine. The meeting was boring though. There was really no point to him being there for half of it, given that it was mostly devoted to discussing the marching band and he really didn't give a fuck about the drumline budget in this moment. The rest of the meeting was just usual news - more building maintenance being scheduled, reminders about course change dates, someone's birthday was this week, and the new grad students had been hired and assigned. Neal wondered who Archie would end up working with. Neal only had senior seminar classes and workshops, so he never had need of or use for a grad assistant.  
  
The meeting adjourned and Neal decided to try to escape to the safety of his office and put off hearing about Dave's adventures the night before. He loved Dave, Dave was his best friend, they had known each other a long time now, but hearing about Dave and women was something he didn't really want to get into. Miraculously, Dave must have noticed that Neal didn't want to talk, because he just nudged Neal's arm as he stood up and said "Lunch?" When Neal nodded, Dave replied "Great. Meet at my office? 12:30?"  
  
Neal nodded again and Dave walked off. Neal turned his music up and didn't let himself look at Dave's ass as he left the room.  
  
~~~  
  
Neal was a few minutes late to their lunch meeting. He was working on a new piece and had a shot of inspiration ( _bright eyes and rhythmic voice_ ), and had to find a stopping place before he left. Locking his office behind him, he headed toward the stairs and up to Dave's office.  
  
Dave was on the third floor, practically living in a closet since he had accidentally flirted with the Dean's daughter at a faculty function a few years back. Usually when Neal went up there he heard rock music, some classical composition, or on one occasion, Carrie Underwood playing from all the way down the hallway, but today it was...drumming? Neal didn't knock, hadn't ever knocked since the day Dave told him he was always welcome. Slowly pushing open the door, he was greeted by the sight of Dave sitting by another dark haired figure, drums between them. Neal took it in, watching Dave bite his lower lip and grimace as his rhythm on the drum faltered.  
  
Finally Dave stopped trying and let out a laugh. "Eh, I think I'm gonna leave this up to the expert."  
  
"Oh, I'm not really an expert at all, but thanks I guess."  
  
Remembering that there was another person in the room, Neal tore his gaze away from Dave's lip to look over at the speaker. Dave finally noticed he was standing there though, and called out. "Doc! You're late. I had to distract myself with, what were these called? Tamboras?"  
  
Neal wasn't really paying attention though, because the other figure in the room had turned around and Neal found himself facing the man he'd met the night before, hazel eyes bright with what was clearly enjoyment at the instrument. Archie let out a breathy laugh and nodded at Dave, confirming his pronunciation of the drum's name. Then he turned back to Neal.  
  
"Nice to meet you again Neal."  
  
"Yeah, likewise," Neal replied, and awkwardly held out his hand. As Archie took his hand, Neal stared at his eyes for a second, before Dave jumped back into the conversation.  
  
"Wait, you two know each other already?" He looked back and forth from Neal to Archie with interest.  
  
"Yeah, we met at the mixer last night?" Even though Archie hadn't meant that to be a question, it sounded like one all the same.  
  
"While you were off romancing Miss Sundress, Hearthrob." Neal gave Dave a pointed look. Dave still wasn't forgiven for dragging him along and then ditching him.  
  
"Well, that's great!" Dave obviously caught Neal's drift, because his eyes moved away from Neal's and off to the side. "And here I was, all prepared to make introductions. Archie's going to be working with me this semester," he noted proudly. "And Archie, this guy'll probably be around a lot, so just knock him out of your way if you need to."  
  
Neal raised an eyebrow, while Archie just chuckled uncomfortably.  
  
"That's okay, I'm sure I won't need to push anyone out of the way. I'll probably be in the grad office most of the time anyway," Archie pointed out.   
  
"Okay, I _insist_ you work up here. I've seen that office. It's like a dark, damp dungeon."  
  
Neal saw Archie looking around at Dave's numerous piles of stuff ( _'organizational system, Tiemann. I've got a system'_ ) and noted, "Like here is better? Pretty sure this used to be a maintenance closet."  
  
Dave mock glared at him. "Like that was my fault," Neal rolled his eyes as Dave reached over to grab his wallet from the desk. "How could I know she was underage?"  
  
Obviously Dave was trying to make a good impression on his GA, Neal thought to himself sarcastically. He looked over at Archie, who, interestingly, seemed nonplussed. Huh. Maybe there was more substance to Archie than he'd originally thought.  
  
"Can we get out of here? I'm fucking starving." Neal noticed Archie flinch out of the corner of his eye. So, discussions of sex did nothing, but cursing would make him jump, Neal noted to himself. "Arch, you wanna come?"  
  
"Uh, no, that's okay. I have a meeting and then I have to check on the updated class lists, so I'll see you later Cook?"  
  
"Sure Archie. I'll be back in an hour." Dave grabbed his keys as Archie picked up his drum and walked out the door. Dave nudged him to the door, and Neal felt a shiver up his spine as he always had, even after a million intentional and unintentional touches. He waited impatiently for Dave to lock his door, and was about to say something when he got distracted by the figure walking away from them down the hall.  
  
"Chinese?" Dave's question dragged him back. Neal shrugged, absentmindedly. Dave took that for a 'yes' response and led the way down the hall.  
  
~~~  
  
It was a week after the mixer when Neal found himself looking over drafts of senior projects at his favorite cafe. Sam's was his favorite for three reasons: one, it was close to the music building, two, there was usually live music to be found, and three, they sold coffee _and_ beer. He'd discovered it midway through his first year at the University and it quickly became his go-to place when he needed to escape his office. This day was one of those days, but Neal started to think he'd have to escape right back to his office if this music kept up. He wasn't one to discount any style of music, but the tuba and guitar combination and the high pitched singing were giving him a headache even coffee wasn't fixing.  
  
Neal was making a last ditch attempt at focusing on his work, when he heard a hesitant voice speak up beside him.  
  
"Do you mind if I join you?"  
  
Neal glanced up. Archie.  
  
"Sure, man. Have a seat." He pushed the other chair out from under the table with his foot, and waved a hand toward the space opposite him.  
  
Archie smiled at him and sat down. "Thanks. How are you? I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"  
  
The singer hit a particularly shrill note and Neal winced. "Nah, can't concentrate anyway." He tucked the papers back into their file folder. "How's it going with you? Keeping busy?"  
  
Archie's eyes lit up. Neal noted the hazel was more pronounced than usual. Must have been the light.  
  
"I'm good. Yeah, it's been busy, and I'm still not really sure my students are listening most of the time, but I've been planning some different stuff and hopefully they'll enjoy themselves more once we get more into the material. And Cook thinks they're good ideas, so that's nice."  
  
Privately, Neal thought Dave didn't give a flying fuck about his Music Cultures class. However, to Archie, he only responded "Sounds good."  
  
Archie started to say something in reply, but Neal cut him off. "Wanna get out of here? Feels like my head's about to explode."  
  
Archie glanced at the band curiously, as though there was a chance he'd actually not been hearing the performance slowly clearing out the cafe. "Uh, sure. I was actually taking a walk when I saw you through the window. Would you like to join me?"  
  
Neal took in the animated face, eyes bright in anticipation, and smiling, as always. How could he say no to that?  
  
"Sure. Let's go."  
  
They ended up making their way over to the main quad on campus, walking under the tree covered pathways. And somewhere between the library and the math building, between Archie's story of his cats and his laughter at Neal's stories of bizarre former students, Neal's headache disappeared. And after they'd walked awhile, it wasn't a difficult decision to head out to dinner with Archie, either.  
  
~~~  
  
Neal stood up and stretched, trying to get the kinks out of his back. He and Dave were working on something, a collaborative piece for the upcoming university music festival and they had been in a pretty good rhythm so far that day. A good rhythm though, made for long periods of sitting. Dave glanced up.   
  
"You want something to drink? I'm gonna head down to the vending machines." Neal gestured at the hallway.  
  
Dave took the pencil from between his teeth and made a small note on the staff paper in front of him. "Yeah, sure," he said, smiling in thanks.  
  
Neal wandered down the hallway, glancing at flyers taped up on the hallway as he went. He passed one of the new GAs as he walked and thought about Dave's GA. Neal wondered if Archie'd settled in yet. He knew from experience that dealing with the college, your department, and getting your living situation all sorted out was something of a nightmare. Though who knew, maybe he had a roommate to help pick up the load on the housing situation. Neal didn't know; it hadn't come up on their outing the other day. He made a mental note to ask Archie the next time he saw him, make sure the guy didn't need help with anything. After giving a quick wave to the department secretary as he passed, Neal slipped into the department's lounge. He dug through his pocket for change, checking the numbers for Dave's Coke and his cranberry juice before sliding the coins down the slot. He tucked the Coke under his arm and twisted the cap off the juice as he walked.  
  
"Did you see Walker's new GA?" he asked Dave as he entered, handing over the soda.  
  
"No," Dave replied. "She hot?"  
  
"Wouldn't say hot, necessarily." Neal shrugged. "She looks interesting though."  
  
Dave had a contemplative expression on his face, before he said "What does Walker need a GA for anyway? The woman's eighty years old and she's not lecturing." He popped the tab on his drink.  
  
Neal watched as Dave licked the drops of soda off his hand. That wasn't playing fair. He dragged himself back to the question. "Because the woman's eighty years old," he said, pointedly. "She needs someone to help her up stairs, and lift heavy objects. Check the battery in her hearing aid once in a while." He took a sip of cranberry juice as he sat down. "What do you need a GA for, anyway? Not like you have papers to grade either." He grinned at Dave, who gave him a scowl back.  
  
"Could you imagine how much work I'd have to do if I didn't have Archie? You'd never see me -"  
  
"That a bad thing?"  
  
"Fuck you." The smile on his face took some of the intent out of the words. Dave took another swig of his soda. "I'm serious though, Archie is the hardest working GA I've ever had. Guy's pretty talented too."  
  
"He must know more about music and world culture than you do," Neal said with a smirk. "What you know about that subject would take about a week to cover."  
  
"And that, my friend, is why I am a lucky man." Dave poked him in the arm, before setting down his drink. "And speaking of Archie, I'm supposed to meet with him in an hour to go over some stuff, so could we get back to work here?"  
  
Neal waved off his concern and picked up his pencil, next suggestion already waiting in his mind, and a general sense of contentment permeating the office.  
  
~~~  
  
Wednesday was the longest day of the week, this semester. Three seminars, two standing check-in appointments with the doctoral students he advised, and his lunch didn't match up with Dave's. That alone made any day seem longer. Then, to add to the headache, Neal had thought it a good idea to schedule his advising appointments that day, with the idea that he'd rather get it all out of the way at once. Once Wednesday afternoons arrived, though, Neal was crawling out of his skin to leave. The second his last grad student left for the night, Neal gathered up everything he needed to bring home, and locked his office behind him. He paused next to the stairs, contemplating going up to check if Dave was still around, maybe ask if he wanted to get a beer. On one hand, it had been a shitty day, and he could use the company. On the other, Dave's presence sometimes made a shitty day shittier, depending on how much Neal drank. Rolling his eyes at himself, Neal decided to just go home, order Chinese and chill on the couch and watch a movie with Sixx. He pulled out his iPhone, unwound the headphones and started walking down the hallway, not really paying attention to what was in front of him.  
  
He turned the corner at the end of the hall and ran smack into Archie, who obviously hadn't been watching where he was going either. He stared at Archie for a moment, watched as Archie turned slightly pink with embarrassment, the color making its way down his neck. Belatedly noticing that Archie was speaking to him, Neal dragged his attention away from Archie's hands, which were twitching around strap of his messenger bag, and back up to his face. "Sorry?"  
  
"Oh. Sorry. For running into you." Archie smiled brightly at Neal. "I was just looking for you actually. Brooke was telling me about a bar near here? They're having an open mic night tonight, and I thought it might be fun. And I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."  
  
Neal stared at him for a minute. "Uh, well, I was just gonna go home and watch a movie..."  
  
Archie interrupted him. "Oh, no, that's totally cool if you don't want to go. I just thought I'd ask, you know, I don't really know that many people, but if you have other plans, that's cool. I'll um, see you later."  
  
Neal grabbed Archie's arm and pulled him back as he turned to leave. "Whoa Archuleta. Breathe once in a while, huh? I'd love to come along. Dave coming?"  
  
Archie shook his head. "No, he's been swamped with work all day. I hope he goes home and gets some sleep. He looks like he needs it," Archie said, sounding concerned.  
  
Neal shrugged, glad he decided not to hoof it upstairs to talk to Dave in any case. "Sounds like a good time. 'Sides, I think Sixx'll forgive me for skipping out on our movie date."  
  
Archie looked slightly alarmed by that statement. "Oh, I didn't know you had a date. You don't have to come, it's okay."  
  
Neal laughed. "Relax, man. Sixx is my dog."  
  
"Oh!" Archie seemed to calm down a bit, no longer worried at ruining Neal's nonexistent plans for the night. Then he piped up again, "You have a dog?"  
  
"Yeah, I have a dog." Neal put his iPhone away, and moved towards the front of the building, answering questions about his beast of a dog as they walked. The night was looking brighter than it had thirty minutes ago.  
  
~~~  
  
After taking a detour to Neal's condo to get his guitar (which also allowed him to introduce Archie to Sixx, and vice versa - _Oh my gosh, he_ is _huge!_ ) and a trip to get Thai food, after Archie found out Neal hadn't eaten dinner and also had never eaten Thai food, which was apparently one of the best foods out there (Neal wasn't sure about that; ribs were pretty spectacular), they made their way over to Archie's open mic night.  
  
The place was pretty full for a Wednesday. And loud. Archie got Neal's attention and pointed towards a small table in the front corner of the room. Neal nodded, and leaned down closer so he'd be heard. "If you wanna go grab the table, I'm gonna head over to the bar. You want anything?"  
  
"Sprite?"  
  
Neal raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Sprite it is then," and the two headed to their different destinations.  
  
After getting their drinks, Neal wound his way through the crowd to the table Archie had staked out. Archie flashed a smile at him as he took his Sprite, and gestured to the woman on stage, giving a passable performance of Heart's 'Alone'. A little overdone, Neal thought, but whatever. He leaned over to Archie. "So, you getting up there? There's a keyboard - you don't have to sing if you don't want to."  
  
"Oh, I usually don't? I mean, I could play, but I don't think anyone here wants to sit and listen to me play piano." He took a sip of his Sprite. "I could sing something, though, if you want me to." His expression turned playful. "But that means you have to get up there too."  
  
Neal raised his eyebrow and gave him a half smile. "Sure. I can do that."  
  
Archie grinned, and then got up to go put them on the list, a definite bounce to his step.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Neal was coming off the stage to a respectable level of applause as he finished his own song, about love and friendship, and finding the two in the same person. He was used to singing things that were personal, but Archie's eyes were wide when Neal got back to their table. His throat felt dry. He reached for his drink, not wanting to meet Archie's eyes. Usually he didn't care what people thought of him or how they interpreted his music, but Archie was possibly a little closer to the situation than most. Suddenly, Neal couldn't figure out if he wanted to know what Archie truly thought about the song or if he just wanted him to not say a word.  
  
"That was...just...amazing, Neal." Archie seemed to be at a loss for words as he stood up to head over to the small stage. The comment made Neal feel warm and relieved, somehow.  
  
"Thanks Arch. Good luck up there." Neal sat down at their table and took a sip of his beer, waiting for Archie to get ready.  
  
Archie adjusted the mic slightly, and then cleared his throat. "So, uh. Hi." Neal was amused at the half-hearted wave he gave the crowd. He took another drink as Archie continued. "Normally, I'd play something while singing, but I don't think this song goes really well with piano, so if it's okay with you guys, I'll just sing a cappella. This song's called 'The Story.' It's by Brandi Carlile and it's a pretty amazing song."  
  
Neal was surprised by that; he didn't know Archie sang. He leaned forward as Archie started singing. By the end of the first verse, Neal was trying to catch his breath. He was blown away. What was Archie even doing in piano performance anyway, if he could do that with his voice.  
  
 _You see the smile that's on my mouth  
It's hiding the words that don't come out  
And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed  
They don't know my head is a mess  
No, they don't know who I really am_  
  
All Neal could do was sit there. His insides felt warm and he felt twitchy and like he'd had too much coffee. And breathing was becoming more difficult. And suddenly, all he wanted to do was to go up and drag Archie offstage, and take him home, and kiss him until Archie knew what it felt like not to be able to breathe. Neal reached out with a shaking hand and gulped down the last half of his beer as Archie finished the song. The feelings were unsettling. He had been in love with Dave for years, but he didn't think any part of that love had made him feel like he was being punched in the stomach.  
  
Neal tried to get ahold of himself as Archie made his way off the stage and back to their table, to loud applause.  
  
"So, how was it?" Neal watched as Archie's hand nervously rubbed the back of his neck. He had a polite smile on his face, waiting for Neal to answer. Neal was a little busy, staring at Archie's mouth instead of focusing on the question. His attention was brought back to the present after Archie cleared his throat.  
  
"Oh, uh, it was good." He watched as Archie sat down, smile growing wider. Neal shook himself. "It was fucking fantastic, Archuleta. Since when did you sing like that?"  
  
"I don't remember when I started, but it's just something I like to do." Archie took a drink of his Sprite and turned his attention back to the stage, but Neal wasn't ready to let it go.  
  
"Why are you in piano, and not voice? And hell, why are you in grad school anyway? How do you not have a record deal?" Neal wasn't a huge fan of popular music these days; what passed for music, but most pop singers couldn't sing anyway.  
  
Archie gave a little laugh. "Oh, I'm not good enough for that. I used to want to do that, but then I got sick and I just sort of moved to piano. Besides, it was hard enough convincing my parents to let me go to school for music. I don't think a singing career would have worked for them." He smiled at Neal, self-deprecatingly.  
  
Neal noted the comment about being sick and filed it away to ask about later. "You let your parents tell you what to do with your life?" He thought he'd stopped asking his parents for guidance when he started high school; he couldn't imagine them having any say in his life at 22.  
  
Archie looked at the table for a moment, his finger pushing through the condensation on the surface of his glass. "My family's really close." He looked up, as if to say 'you know?' Neal knew, but his family members were closer to each other than he was to them. One of Archie's hands fidgeted with the edge of his sleeve. "I know they love me, and they want the best for me. They just want me to have a good life, and I can't really argue with that. Me coming here, and being in grad school, it was kind of a compromise." He sighed. "It's fine. Singing is fine as a hobby. I love piano, and I'll be able to get further with piano."  
  
Neal raised an eyebrow, deciding to let it go for now. "Well, I still think you should sing more. Anyone else know you can do that?"  
  
Archie grinned at him, and his breath caught. "No. Top secret."  
  
Okay. Neal needed another beer if he was going to sit and look at Archie for any length of time. He stood up, and gestured to Archie's glass. "You want anything else?"  
  
"No thanks, Neal. I'm fine."  
  
Neal nodded and turned to walk over to the bar. Before he got a step away, Archie reached out and touched his arm.  
  
"And thanks, for what you said. About my singing." Archie's smile grew softer. "It means a lot, especially coming from you."  
  
Neal's arm was burning where Archie's fingers were touching him. He choked out a response, and walked away. Maybe something stronger than beer.  
  
~~~  
  
 _Neal heard a moan as he moved down his partner's body, pausing every few inches to press his lips to the flesh below him. He watched as his hands moved across lightly tanned skin. He moved his hand to grasp his partner's hip, still covered by boxers. He sucked the skin just above the elastic, and felt the body underneath him shiver. "Shhh... I've got you."  
  
He carefully lifted the waistband up and over his partner's length, half hard against his leg. Pushing the boxers down, he reached out and carefully grasped his partner's length in his hand. A whimper, and then hands reached down to touch Neal's face. Neal closed his eyes, feeling the long fingers move across his cheek and tangle in his hair. It felt perfect. Neal opened his eyes and looked up into his partner's face.   
  
Archie's warm hazel eyes stared down at him, soft smile - unlike any other smile he'd seen on Archie's face, this one just for Neal - on his face.  
  
Archie opened his mouth, "Neal."_  
  
Morning. Neal blinked, then took a deep, shuddering breath. He turned his head to glance at the clock. 7:33. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He should get up, feed Sixx, start his Saturday, but at that moment he lacked the energy to move. This was the third night since he'd discovered this...attraction, to Archie, and the third night that he'd dreamed about him. The past few days had been awkward. Neal had tried to avoid Archie in the hallways, and was also finding himself hiding from Dave. Not only would he be more likely to find Archie where Dave was, but thinking about Archie like that felt like he was betraying what he felt for Dave. Not that Dave knew how he felt, exactly, but it made Neal feel better if he didn't have to look Dave in the eye and think _I dreamt about someone who wasn't you._  
  
Neal scrubbed his face with his hand. It couldn't go on indefinitely like this. Dave was already starting to hunt him down, text messages and notes on his office door clearly implying that Dave was almost ready to stake out his office if he didn't show himself soon. Neal checked his voicemail last night, to find a message from Dave telling him that he'd better figure out what the fuck his problem was and meet Dave at their usual bar Saturday night. Alright. So he had today to figure out how to look his best friend in the eye again. Neal pushed aside the covers and dragged himself out of bed. Guess he'd get an early start.  
  
~~~  
  
Neal was hit with a cloud of smoke and noise as he entered the bar. A few minutes of peering through the thick haze and he found Dave sitting at the far end of the room. Walking over, he pulled out a chair and sat down.  
  
"Nice table, man" he commented, gesturing at the hallway leading to the restrooms off to the left.  
  
Dave made a face. "Only one left when I got here." He took a swig of beer and watched the waitress walk over to take Neal's drink order. Only when she left did he speak up. "What's going on, Doc?" He said it casually, like it was normal for them not to have seen each other in three days and he was just wondering what Neal had been up to.  
  
Neal shrugged, trying to stall for time, at least until his beer arrived. Maybe he should have ordered something harder. "Just dealing with some things."  
  
Dave's face was still calm. "Some things. Okay." He took another drink, and then uncertainly began, "You know, if you have something you're dealing with, and you need help figuring it out, I'm always here. You know that, right?" He looked anxious, like there was a possibility that the past three years of friendship, of being Neal's best friend, didn't matter to Neal at all.  
  
The conversation paused as the waitress returned with Neal's drink. He glanced at Dave, still waiting for an explanation, before taking a drink and rolling his eyes. "I just...got a thing. For someone." There. Vague. Vague was good.  
  
Dave looked a little uncomfortable (it made Neal feel a little better to see the tables turned here). "A thing? With who?"  
  
"Not with who - for someone." Neal worked a fingernail under the label on his bottle. "And I'm not telling you who. It's just a thing, whatever."  
  
"Well...does she have a thing for you back?"   
  
This time, Neal glared at him. "I don't know. And it doesn't matter. Now, can we stop acting like girls and talk about something else?"  
  
Dave threw his bottle cap at Neal. "I don't know man. If you're gonna avoid me every time you get all bitchy about some chick, I don't think I can let that go." Dave's face was back to normal though as he said it, so Neal knew they could move on.  
  
"Whatever." Neal sat back, more relaxed now. "Hey, Skib's back in town Thursday. You feel like picking up a gig next weekend?"  
  
"Sure. Does my answer really matter or are you just asking me as a formality?" Dave's face was deadpan as he asked the question, but Neal could see the glint in his eyes.  
  
"Just a formality." Neal replied, just as straightfaced. "Don't need three fucking guitarists."  
  
Dave laughed, and finished off his beer. "Alright. I'm gonna assume you checked already with Joey and Peek, since they're so much more integral to the lineup."  
  
"Damn straight." Neal waved the waitress over for refills for the two of them. "Thoughts on a setlist?" He grabbed a napkin to jot down notes.  
  
Somewhere in the discussion of whether to go with Waterside or Railway Reality, Dave interrupted "Hey, you should ask that girl - whoever - to come out and see us Saturday."  
  
Neal kept his eyes on their napkin of song choices (maybe Waiting Room instead), "Thought we were done discussing that?"  
  
"Just a thought, man." And with that, he picked up where they left off.  
  
It came back to Neal later that night. Maybe he'd invite Archie to come out and watch them play anyway. Maybe.  
  
~~~  
  
  
Neal didn't get nervous about performing. And he definitely wasn't nervous tonight. He bit down on his lip and stopped himself from adjusting his guitar any more. A few feet away, Andy was tuning his own guitar, in between giving Neal looks that said Andy had noticed that Neal was a bit twitchier than usual. But not nervous, anyway.  
  
Archie had said he was coming to the show. ( _"Oh, yeah, Cook mentioned it. That would be awesome. I'd love to see you guys play."_ ) Remembering the excited smile on Archie's face when he'd mentioned the show made Neal feel both calm and more...itchy at the same time.  
  
It was nice to have Andy back in town. He'd been gone for the past two months, out in California, trying to get his one man show, To Have Heroes, a record deal. When Neal asked if he'd had any luck, he smiled and said, 'maybe', which told Neal nothing, but Andy wasn't one to count his chickens before they ran off, or whatever the fuck that saying was.  
  
Neal had met Andy after he'd only been in town two days. After three hours of dealing with the college bureaucracy and finally getting the keys to his office, he'd had to take a break before actually moving in to his office. He'd walked right past Andy, sitting outside a coffee shop, working out a section of a song on his acoustic. Five minutes later, Neal had known all he would ever need to know about Andy, and now three years later, with Dave the only possible exception, Andy knew him better than anyone. And his face said that he knew something was up.  
  
Resigning himself to having a conversation about this thing he had for Archie, Neal tried to round everyone up. He found Kyle and Joey pretty quickly, but couldn't see Dave anywhere. The crowd and the music playing over the speakers was almost too much noise to take. Heading over to the opposite side of the bar on a tip, he finally spotted Dave talking to someone.  
  
Neal had taken a few more steps towards Dave when he realized that Dave was talking to Archie. Neal relaxed slightly. He'd made it then. A small smile on his lips, Neal was about to call out their names when Dave bent down and kissed Archie.  
  
Neal stopped. His first thought was that Dave had some nerve. Quickly deciding to go pull his best friend's face off of Archie, he started to walk over there. His ears were full of the crowd noise, and his brain was telling him that he probably shouldn't punch Dave, even if he was being an asshole. He saw Archie's hands come up and thought good for Archie, and got ready to watch Dave receive a bloody nose. But instead of punching Dave, Archie's arms smoothly moved around Dave's waist and returned the kiss. Neal froze. And now he could see, where Archie was bending himself toward Dave, where his hands were sliding up Dave's back, where the lazy kiss between them was warm and comfortable. Neal blindly turned back towards the stage, mind blessedly blank. Amazingly, he didn't even feel nervous anymore. It was easy not to feel nervous though, when he couldn't feel anything.  
  
"Couldn't find him?" Andy commented, looking up as Neal climbed back up and picked up his guitar.  
  
Neal shook his head roughly. "No." His voice sounded hoarse.  
  
"I'll give him a call on his cell. We'll track him down." Andy gave him a concerned look. "You okay, man?"  
  
Neal tried to wash away the rasp in his voice with a few gulps of beer. "'m fine Skib."  
  
Dave reappeared a moment later and Andy put his phone away. "We ready to go?"  
  
Neal didn't respond. He pretended to check his pedals and ignored the way his right hand was clenched into a fist. He'd been wrong about everything.  
  
"I think we're good to go Dave." Andy responded easily.  
  
They took their places, and just before Kyle gave the beat for their intro, Dave leaned over to Andy and Joey and said, "Hey, when we're done, I've got someone I'd like to you guys to meet."  
  
Neal tore his gaze away from Dave and threw it out into the crowd, seeking something, anything else to look at, and without his permission, it found Archie's eyes from across the room. His eyes locked with Archie's as his friend gave him a thumbs up and a wave. He shook it off, tearing into their intro.  
  
~~~  
  
Neal loved to be on stage. His guitar an extension of himself, the crowd screaming, the perfect joining of instruments and his fellow musicians. Hearing the songs that he'd written come to life and sent out into the darkened club. And as much as he never wanted a show to end, the feeling was doubled that night. Neal wasn't sure how to label what he was feeling; it just came out as an overall sense of anger and betrayal. Dave and Archie - even if Dave didn't know how Neal felt about Archie, how could he do that? If Neal had even thought he'd had a chance with Dave - but Dave was straight, right? - then he would have maybe done something about it. How could Dave not have known how Neal felt about him? It felt like it was a missed opportunity. And Archie - another missed opportunity. He'd only known Archie for a few weeks and already... How could Neal have missed the signs that they had gotten together? Dave was never that subtle. Neal could have kicked himself for not acting sooner, on any of his feelings.  
  
Neal poured his anger, and confusion, and hurt into the show, giving it a rougher edge than usual. Andy sent him concerned glances more than once, and the back of Neal's mind began to think of ways to deflect Skib's eventual questions.  
  
The show ended before Neal was really ready to face his thoughts and his friends. The club slowly cleared out, a few holdovers standing at the bar, sipping their last drinks of the night. Neal ducked Andy for a little while longer, packing up the guitars and equipment. Eventually, there was nothing left to pack up and Neal was left standing on stage with Joey, Kyle, and Andy, waiting for Dave to get back with his mystery guest, who'd disappeared with him about twenty minutes before (Neal's jaw clenched at the thought of what they could be doing just then). Neal fiddled with his phone, trying to distract himself. Joey and Kyle were talking about Joey's new bass, and Andy was sitting, waiting quietly, writing on a bar napkin.  
  
"Hey guys! I'd like you to meet Archie. Archie, the guys - this is Andy. Joey. Kyle." Archie nodded at each as Dave pointed them out. "And you know Neal of course." Dave was smiling this stupid shit-eating grin. Neal wanted to knock it off his face.  
  
"Archie?" Kyle asked.  
  
Archie laughed. "It's David. David Archuleta, but Cook and Neal call me Archie just to lessen the confusion."  
  
Kyle nodded in understanding and Andy spoke up. "So, the two of you are...?"  
  
Dave chuckled, and tossed his arm over Archie's shoulder. "Well, Archie's been my GA since August, but we just started dating a week ago."  
  
Andy's eyebrows rose, but he didn't speak about whatever concerns he had. Neal knew enough about Andy to know that as soon as Archie had gone, he would speak up. Andy had noted the same thing that Neal had (although Neal's mind had been otherwise occupied), which was that Dave was technically breaking the rules, dating his grad assistant.  
  
Watching the two of them as they talked to the guys, Neal just felt a sense of rage and of being wronged. Digging out a cigarette, he couldn't stop himself from saying, "Better not get caught. I think they still have a utility closet you could work out of." He lit his cigarette, the group silent at his asshole remark. When he finally looked up, all he could see was Archie's stricken face. Dave looked furious.  
  
Neal needed to get out of there, now. He stood up quickly, chair loudly scraping the floor. "Heading out. See you guys later." His eye caught Archie's, and he watched Archie frown in response. Neal ducked his head, and avoided anyone else's eyes. He grabbed his guitar and walked out the door, the farewells from the guys cut off as the door closed.  
  
Neal took a deep breath of the cool night air. The area surrounding the club was empty as Neal walked over to his car. Time to go home, and figure some things out. And if he couldn't, find a way to deal with what he had in front of him.  
  
~~~  
  
A loud knock on his door came close to nine o'clock Sunday morning. Neal dragged himself off his couch, where he'd spent the night sitting and thinking (and then sleeping), and opened his front door to find Andy on the other side. Andy looked nothing like he'd been up late playing a concert and more like he'd been up since five doing yoga or some shit. He smiled brightly at Neal and said "Grab your wallet Tiemann; you're taking me out for breakfast."  
  
Neal looked at him a minute, and quickly folded. "Lemme grab a new shirt."   
  
~~~  
  
Andy barely held off until the waitress had finished taking their orders before starting in on the interrogation. "So, what's up with you?"  
  
"Nice, Skib. And how have you been? Was the weather nice in California?" Neal dug out his pack of cigarettes and searched his pockets for a lighter.  
  
"It was beautiful in California, but trying to distract me won't work. You were off last night, and I wanna know why?" Andy's eyes were on him as he finally found the lighter and lit up. "What's gonna bug Neal Tiemann so much that it changes the way he plays?" Andy waited a minute, probably for full impact, before he said, "and don't think I didn't notice the way you wouldn't look at Dave all night. So I ask again, what's going on?"  
  
Neal couldn't even understand himself what he felt; there was no chance he was gonna be able to explain it to Andy. Maybe he'd buy what Dave had. "I just got a thing for somebody. It'll pass."  
  
"Yeah, and that's what you said about Dave too." Andy paused to sip his coffee, but then his eyes widened. "Wait, you mean you don't have a thing for Dave anymore?"  
  
Neal shook his head. "If only it was that easy."  
  
Andy considered that statement, before continuing "So what you're saying is that you like two people now?"  
  
Neal shrugged and waited for the busboy to refill their coffee before responding. "I don't know, man. It's complicated."  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Andy added sugar to his coffee and stirred it. "Well, maybe you can do something with this new person. I mean, now that Dave's involved with this Archie kid and all. And speaking of that, isn't Dave being kinda stupid, getting involved with his grad assistant?"  
  
Neal smirked.  
  
"What?"  
  
Neal gave up. Maybe Andy would have some advice that was useful. "Can't. The 'new person' is Archie."  
  
"What?"  
  
Neal waited as their waitress set down their food before continuing. "Archie. We met at the fall mixer a few weeks back, we've been talking off and on. I like the guy." He finished his cigarette and started in on his food. "I didn't know about Dave until last night with the rest of the guys."  
  
Andy raised an eyebrow. "Really? I didn't think Dave could keep that kinda thing a secret."  
  
"Yeah, tell me about it."  
  
The next few minutes were silent as Andy digested this new information. Neal dug into his omelet in the meanwhile.  
  
"Well, guess that explains what happened after the show. I thought you were just pissed that Dave was dating a guy." Andy waited a minute, before saying, "Do they know?"  
  
Neal swallowed. "Dave knows that I'm dealing with something, but, no."  
  
Andy looked out the window next to them for a minute. "Man. I don't know what to tell you. Go out and meet someone who's available?"  
  
"Fuck off."  
  
Andy laughed. "Or you could wait until Dave gets busted for dating his grad student and move in on Archie when they move Dave's office to the basement."  
  
Neal shook his head. "Thanks Skib."  
  
"Sorry I can't help more. Sucks."  
  
"'S alright. I'll get over it." Neal picked a piece of bacon off Andy's plate. "Now that we're done discussing my really poor timing, how was California? Details, Skib."  
  
After that, the rest of the morning went okay. Neal had missed Andy. He hoped this record thing worked out for him, because Andy deserved it, but Neal would miss him if he left. And he almost forgot about his problems as he listened to Andy's tales of the west coast. Almost.  
  
~~~  
  
Neal was making notes on his students' drafts, counting down the minutes until he could leave, and desperately trying not to think about anything else. He thought that if he kept busy enough, he'd be able to deal with things until the feelings went away.  
  
A series of knocks sounded against his door. Dave's usual pattern. Neal looked out his window for a moment, and then yelled for Dave to come in. He turned around to see Dave poke his head around the side of the door.  
  
"Hey, you got a minute?"  
  
"Sure." Neal set the paper he was working on aside, and turned to fully face Dave, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting. After the show, after what he'd said, he hadn't seen much of Dave. Neal figured he kind of deserved the cool treatment.  
  
Dave closed the door behind him and leaned against it. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay with me and Archie. With us dating. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier. You just seemed like you were going through some things and I didn't want to push all my crap on you."  
  
"Stop it. We're friends, man, you can tell me." Neal looked at Dave for a second before continuing. "You should have told me. And are you sure you should be dating him anyway? And since when are you gay?" Once he let himself ask one question, they all came flying out without his permission. Despite his resolution to be nice, he still felt an overwhelming bitterness when he thought of Dave and Archie together. So what if Dave felt hurt; Neal was still reliving watching that kiss behind his closed eyelids.  
  
Dave looked contrite for a split second, before pushing back. "Oh come on, it's not like anyone cares if I'm dating him. I'm not giving him grades; I'm not sexually harassing him. We're consenting adults, and I don't see that there's anything wrong with it." Dave looked at him steadily and Neal felt like shit for even bothering to bring it all up. He couldn't help himself though. "And I wouldn't call myself gay."  
  
"Really."  
  
"Yeah, really. Sue me, I happen to like different people. Guys too." Dave looked hurt. "I didn't think you were so closed minded."  
  
Neal stared at him helplessly.  
  
"Do you have a problem with me dating guys?"  
  
"No," Neal choked out. "Of course not." Neal cleared his throat, meaning the next sentence more than anything. "I just wish you had told me," he said, not adding the 'before I missed my chance' that wanted to follow.  
  
"Okay then." Dave sighed, relief shaping his smile. "Because I'd hate to lose you as my friend. I don't think I know anyone else who puts up with my shit as much as you do, and still stays."  
  
Neal snorted. "Bullshit. You make friends like Archie smiles."  
  
That got a grin. "Yeah, okay, but those aren't friends like you."  
  
Neal nodded, conceding the point.  
  
"So, we good?"  
  
"Yeah, we're good." Just when Neal thought he couldn't feel worse.  
  
Dave scratched at the back of his neck. "If it bothers you, I won't talk about it - me and Archie, I mean. If you don't want to hear about me dating guys."  
  
As much as Neal never wanted to hear the details of their relationship, it's not like it would be worse than what he imagined, right? And he couldn't hurt Dave any more by agreeing. "No. It's fine, I mean. I," Neal paused, unsure, but then thought 'what the hell' and let it out. "I date guys too. Sometimes."  
  
"But-" Dave shook his head in confusion. "Why did you have such a problem? And what the hell was that about me not telling you, when were you gonna tell me?"  
  
Neal looked away, uneasy. "It's just private. I just, don't really talk about it. Sorry."  
  
Dave stared at him another second, before letting out a bark of laughter. He shook his head in apology at Neal's questioning look, and sat down after clearing off the other chair in the room. Still chuckling, he said, "You know, when I started here, I kind of had a thing for you." Neal's heart clenched. "But I figured I'd just have to get over it, since you were straight, you know?" He straightened in the chair. "Course, that doesn't mean that I'm your type or anything, so maybe it's all for the best now anyway." He smiled and Neal couldn't do anything but nod in response.  
  
"Anyway, I'll let you get back to your work." Dave stood up to leave, replacing the pile of papers he'd moved earlier.  
  
Yeah, like Neal was going to get anything done the rest of the day after that comment. Dave was almost out of the room, before he turned and said, "Hey, Arch and I are going to Beck's after work. You wanna join us? Maybe it'll take your mind off of whatever's bugging you."  
  
Neal could not conceive of anything he wanted to do less than go out to dinner with Dave and his boyfriend just then. "Nah. I think I'm just gonna stay in tonight." He waved his hand at Dave, trying to get him hurried out the door before Neal exploded at him. "Have a good time though."  
  
Dave threw out a hand in goodbye and called out "Have a good night, Doc." as he left for his own office.  
  
Neal stared at the open doorway for a moment, before standing up and slowly closing it. He stood a moment at the door, collecting himself, before taking a breath and returning to his desk. Neal grabbed the paper he'd been working with earlier, before Dave showed up with his bombshell, and tried not to think about anything.


	2. Chapter 2

Neal had misgivings about scheduling the gig for the upcoming weekend. On one hand, they may as well take advantage of everyone being in the same place for a while - Andy was headed off to New York in a few weeks to visit his sister and talk to some labels there - but Neal wasn't sure he could handle Dave just then. After only a few minutes of debate, he started to hate himself for letting the whole thing affect him and decided he could be a professional about it. After checking with everybody, he called Paul back and accepted his offer for that Friday.  
  
He didn't even bother trying to find Archie to let him know. No point in that anymore. He imagined Dave would let him know anyway, and he didn't really know how to interact with Archie anymore. The few times they'd passed in the hallway had been awkward to say the least. Archie had been perfectly friendly, which made Neal feel self-conscious. He had tried to think of a way to apologize for his comment about Dave and Archie dating, but couldn't think of a way to do it and not spill the beans at the same time. All his ideas had sounded lame. 'I was having a bad day. Sorry.' just sounded like a cop out. Instead, he just resolved to try and not act like a jerk when he saw Archie again.  
  
Friday afternoon arrived eventually. Neal stepped out of his car and took a deep breath in response to the cold. Fall had finally decided to hit harder and even the days were cool lately. Glancing around at the other vehicles in the parking lot, he spotted Andy's car, and Joey's truck. It looked like Kyle hadn't brought the van down yet, and Dave wasn't here yet, but there was an unfamiliar sedan in the corner. Neal grabbed his guitar from the backseat, turning to see Kyle pulling into the lot. Kyle got out and Neal motioned that he was going inside and he'd be back out in a minute. Kyle waved back before moving to the rear of the van.  
  
Neal stepped into the bar and was met with the sight of Andy, Joey, Dave, and Archie sitting around a table in the empty bar, waiting. Archie looked up first at the sound of the door opening. His eyes lit up.  
  
"Hey Neal," he called over.  
  
Neal nodded back at him, and then at Andy and Dave as they turned around. "Hey," he set his guitar case down on the floor near the small platform they used as a stage. He couldn't think of anything else to say, so instead he just said "Kyle's here, if you guys wanna help carry shit in." He couldn't quite look away as Dave leaned over to press a kiss on Archie's mouth before standing. Andy must have seen his face, because he started pushing Dave towards the door.  
  
Archie caught up with Neal just as he'd recovered and was headed out the door himself. "Hey," he said, simply, as they walked out.  
  
"Hey." Archie's smiling was pretty contagious, Neal thought.  
  
"So, what have you been up to? I haven't seen you in a while?"  
  
And there was a reason for that. "Nothing much. Working on student pieces." Neal shrugged. "Trying to get a piece ready for a soundtrack submission." Apparently, they were going to sidestep the whole previous incident. Fine with him.  
  
"Oh, really? What's the movie?"  
  
Neal started telling Archie about the movie and the feel of the music he was trying to create as they caught up with Dave and Andy. He grabbed an amp as Archie picked up one of Kyle's pieces, and they walked back to the bar. Talking to Archie about music was refreshing. Dave was always there if Neal had something to work out with respect to music, but it was nice to get a new perspective on what he was working on.  
  
"Hey," Dave caught up with them on the way back to the van for another load. "Can I ask a favor?"  
  
"Sure, man," Neal responded, curiously. "What's up?"  
  
"I just found out Dean Johnson's sending me to present my last paper at MPCA-"  
  
Neal interrupted him. "Really? Kinda late notice, isn't it?"  
  
"I know, right? Anyway, Arch's gonna take over my classes, but would you mind checking in on him?"  
  
"I'm right here, Cook." Neal smirked as Archie rolled his eyes in Cook's direction.  
  
"I think he's gonna do fine, Dave." ( _"Thank you, Neal."_ ) "Doubt he needs me to hold his hand." That was probably a poor choice of words, since Neal really liked the image that came to his mind.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Dave made a motion with his hand, as if to dismiss both Archie's complaint and Neal's statement. "I'd just feel better if I knew he had some support." He reached out to ruffle Archie's hair. Archie ducked in an attempt to avoid it, laughing at Dave, and Neal fingers twitched. "It is his first semester, after all." Dave mock glared at Archie. "I'm just trying to look out for him."  
  
"Whatever, Cook," Archie retorted.  
  
Neal felt himself smile, watching the two of them tease each other. Okay; he mentally gave in. "Sure." Both of them turned to look at him. Neal looked at Dave. "I'll keep an eye on him. What is that, couple weeks from now?"  
  
"Hey, I thought you were on my side!" Even while complaining, Archie had a grin on his face as Dave thanked Neal.  
  
"Yeah, but he's known me longer." Dave grabbed Archie in a headlock. "You had no chance, Arch."  
  
Neal watched Archie struggle for moment to break out from under Dave's arm. "Alright, knock it off." His voice was a little gruff as he continued "Van's still full. Let's go."  
  
Dave caught his arm as Archie walked ahead. "Seriously, Neal, thanks for helping out. I just want to make sure everything works out, you know?"  
  
Neal looked at his best friend. Dave looked relaxed, and stress free. He was smiling over this whole thing, even with the late notice and preparation for this conference, which was something new. He looked happy. "You know I'd help you out with anything, right? All you have to do is ask," he commented in a mild tone. Dave's happy smile was his reward. Dave never seemed to understand that Neal wasn't just going to drop Dave's friendship at the slightest problem. Neal really would help him out, any time he asked.  
  
Dave punched him in the arm. "C'mon Doc, let's go in and put on a rock show."  
  
~~~  
  
It was a good thing that Dave was leaving the next day, because if Neal had to endure many more days in a row of this, he was gonna be sick. Dave and Archie had been all touchy-feely the entire time they'd been at the party and Neal was not so drunk that he couldn't care (it would be a stupid decision, at this party) but drunk enough that it felt like he was being stabbed every time he caught one with his hands on the other.  
  
Neal didn't really care for departmental politics, but when the Dean's annual fall get-together rolled around, it didn't matter what Neal did or didn't want to do. He was on the faculty, he had to show up. He'd decided to try and avoid Dave and Archie (who he found out was attending two days previous) but they had arrived after Neal and sat down at his table. Neal couldn't believe no one was saying anything (or hinting, or looking curiously) at their behavior, because while it wasn't exactly PDA, they clearly weren't hiding that they were a couple. A couple of what, exactly, was up for debate.  
  
Thankfully, Neal didn't have to sit through the whole thing. After dinner, he stayed long enough to speak to the Dean, before he said goodbye to Dave and Archie, and made his exit. He had a smoke while waiting for the cab, and once it arrived, he directed the driver to take him to a bar across town. He needed a few more drinks in a less public (and career related) space, and maybe something else, if he was lucky.  
  
He settled himself in at the bar, and flagged down the bartender. He spent the next half hour with a beer and a baseball game. He wasn't especially a fan of baseball, but better that than being at the party, or home by himself.  
  
"Sharp's wasted on this game." A voice came from behind him.  
  
"Huh?" He turned, to see a dark haired woman standing behind him, staring up at the screen.  
  
She glanced at him and smiled. "I said, Sharp's being wasted on this game. Cleveland's not that good."  
  
Neal made a noncommittal "huh" and looked back up to the screen, as the aforementioned pitcher got another strikeout.  
  
"Sarah."  
  
"What?" Neal looked at the hand being held out to him in for a moment, before realizing that it was her name. "Oh. Neal." He reached out and offered her his own hand.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Neal." She settled in on the stool next to him. "So, Neal. You a baseball fan? Or are you a fan of a lesser sport?" She raised an eyebrow.  
  
Neal motioned to the bartender for another beer, and looked questioningly at Sarah to see if she wanted anything.  
  
"Sure. I'll have a Coors," she said to the bartender. "So, fan, or not a fan?" she directed back at Neal.  
  
"Not really."  
  
"That's unfortunate. But I believe we can get to know each other better, and I can help you with your baseball deficiency, all at the same time."  
  
As they talked, it was hard not to feel in a slightly better mood. She was attractive, and cheerful, had casually mentioned that she wasn't attached to anyone, and Neal was very willing to take her up on her implicit offer of forgetting his issues, and Dave and Archie for a night. It'd be nice to remember what it felt like to have sex as a release and a a good time, rather than as an unobtainable concept that he'd attached to "love" in his mind for so long.  
  
So when Sarah made her implicit offer an explicit offer after the game had ended, he accepted and called a cab to take them back to her place.  
  
~~~  
  
Neal quietly slipped into the lecture hall, coffee in one hand, notebook in the other. The room Dave had been assigned was probably too large for the size of the class, but at least Neal wasn't going to be harassed by anyone, or stuck next to a sorority chick with an addiction to chatting with her friend during class. Archie was up front, glancing through his notes. He looked up every few minutes, eyes taking in the room, then moving up to the clock, before going back down to the notes.  
  
On the third such pass through the room, he finally spotted Neal sitting in the corner. He waved and grinned, a few students turning around to see what had caught their TA's attention. Neal nodded back at him, holding back a broad smile in return. When Archie smiled at you, first instinct was to smile right back.  
  
Archie seemed more relaxed when he called the class together to start the lecture. Neal took a sip of his coffee and settled in to listen.  
  
He had virtually no interest in the subject of the lecture - reed instruments of East Asia - but Neal thought he could sit and listen to Archie for hours. The hour flew by as he watched Archie's hands fly through the air to emphasize his points, breathy voice discussing the difference between music in Thailand and China, the full attention he gave to students asking questions. The attempts at joking made Neal smile and the students laugh.  
  
The lecture ended with a reminder from Archie to keep up with the reading, and a notice about office hours in the weeks coming up to midterms. Neal waited as the students cleared out, a few stragglers staying back to speak with Archie - handing in late work, explaining previous absences, the few odd questions they had about the lecture material. After a few minutes, the last student wandered out and Archie looked up Neal and smiled.  
  
"So, how'd I do?"  
  
Neal stood up and made his way down the steps to the front of the room. "You did great," he said, honestly. "I mean, I have no clue what the hell you were talking about through most of that, but it was interesting. Kept their attention. Don't think I spotted any napping." Recognizing the huge compliment every professor wanted to hear, Archie grinned.  
  
"Unfortunately," he started. "Next lecture's a little more boring. More history. It'll probably put them out like a light."  
  
Neal rolled his eyes. "I don't believe that." He nudged Archie in the shoulder as they left the room. "You're a natural."  
  
"So," Archie began, changing the subject. "I could use your help with something, if you have some time today."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Archie nodded. "I'm trying to compose a piece for one of my classes and I'm a little stuck. I'd appreciate it if you could just look at it and let me know what you think. Fresh eyes and all that."  
  
Sometimes Neal thought someone was punishing him, putting Archie on Earth solely to tempt Neal. Flashes of them alone in Neal's office flew through his mind.  
  
Neal took a deep breath. "Sure. Why don't we meet in, what, an hour or so? Grab some lunch, and then come back here and you show me what you're working with?" They'd reached the point where Archie would go downstairs to the grad office and Neal would go up to his own office.  
  
"Sounds good," Archie agreed, and he started walking downstairs. "See you then," he said cheerfully, before disappearing from sight.  
  
Neal watched the empty space on the staircase for a moment, before shaking it off and slowly walking upstairs.  
  
~~~  
  
"Alright, show me what you got." Neal said as he licked a drop of mustard off his thumb.  
  
Archie pushed a few sheets of paper in front of them. "It's actually for my modern composition class. You can see I've got the first section down, sort of." Archie shrugged. "And I think I know where I want the end to go, but that depends a lot on the middle and that's the part I'm having trouble with." He stabbed a few pieces of lettuce with his fork.  
  
Neal made a noncommittal sound, eyes already scanning the sheet, making mental notes. He didn't speak for a few minutes, pausing only to take bites of his sandwich. Overall, what Archie had wasn't great, but it had definite promise. There was an interesting structure to it that Neal found appealing. "Okay," he began. "I think I know what you're trying to do here. Under that pile of paper over there," he pointed across the room. "Grab the keyboard that's underneath and bring it over here."  
  
Archie walked over to get the keyboard while Neal pushed their food aside to make room. He plugged it in and flipped the switch.  
  
"Sorry it's not a full size," he commented, testing the keys. "If I'm working on piano, I usually go down to the practice rooms. Okay, so. This is the overarching theme of the piece, right?" He played a few bars of the repeating section. "And then here, you're trying to build up, right?" Archie nodded, and he went on. "So maybe if you do something like this. Maybe," he trailed off as he played a few notes.  
  
Archie listened silently for a second, before reaching out with one hand to play the harmony a few octaves down. "Okay, and then if it's building, I need it to - like this," and he played it further.  
  
Neal let Archie take over playing both hands while he made some notes, nodding in time with Archie's playing. He paused when the notes started changing, and looked over. Archie had his eyes closed, and his lips were slightly parted, and Neal drank in the image.  
  
Archie must have noticed Neal had stopped, because he opened his eyes and caught Neal staring. "Oh, um, sorry. I got off track."  
  
"No, no," Neal cleared his throat. "It was good. Keep going."  
  
Archie smiled at him, and started again. Neal looked back down at the notes and tried to get a grip on himself.  
  
They kept on with the piece for close to three hours, before Archie noticed the time. "Oh! I'm sorry Neal. I didn't mean for you to practically take over writing it."  
  
Neal brushed aside his concern. "Nah, man. You wrote it, absolutely. Even the stuff we worked on. Sounds good."  
  
Anything else Neal may have thought about helping Archie left his mind as Archie smiled at him.  
  
"Well, thank you. I'm glad you like it." He sounded almost apologetic as he said "It's not exactly a strong area of mine."  
  
"Thought it was original. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product."  
  
Archie nodded. "I haven't decided whether to use it for my end of term recital piece or not. I'll let you know the day though, so you can come if you want to. Not that you have to, or anything," he added in a rush.  
  
Neal nodded, and then they both fell silent. Neal's eyes wandered down to the music they'd been composing all afternoon, lit up by the orange of the afternoon sunlight. The building seemed especially quiet as they sat there. Finally, Neal looked back up, only to find Archie staring back at him.  
  
"Neal," Archie said, then paused.  
  
Neal watched him, waiting for the rest of the sentence.  
  
"I - I don't know." Archie's eyes moved away from his and focused a little lower, on Neal's mouth.  
  
Neal watched as Archie licked his lower lip. "Arch." He leaned forward, waiting, _hoping_ only to see Archie roughly shake his head.  
  
"Um, sorry Neal. I have to go. Thanks for your help." He scooped up his papers and after shooting Neal a polite smile, headed out the door, leaving Neal behind, stunned.  
  
~~~  
  
Neal wasn't really one to be preoccupied by events, but when he made it through two whole weeks without seeing a hint of Archie, he had no choice but to dwell on it. He tried not to feel bad about their almost kiss, because Archie wanted to kiss him too, right? When he was feeling shunned over the whole thing though, it was hard to not think he was the guilty party.  
  
Dave had gotten back from his conference a few days after the incident and clearly Archie hadn't told him a thing, because Dave seemed confused and clueless as to the reason why Archie never wanted to meet up with them for lunch, or why he never seemed to want to come up and work in Neal's airy office, something that they'd done a few times since the start of the semester. It took a lot on Neal's part to hold it in, not to explain the situation to Dave. When Neal had a hard time dealing with his own feelings, the last thing he wanted to do was try to explain them to someone else. Eventually, it would probably all come out, but right now nothing could be done about it, especially since Archie was avoiding him.  
  
While Neal was stoically not thinking about it and Archie was silent on the subject, Dave was the one to break first. He and Neal were grading student work over some beer at Sam's when Dave put his pen down and cleared his throat.  
  
"Hey," he began. "Did anything weird happen while I was gone?"  
  
Neal looked at him silently for a moment. "Why?" He was hoping that when this moment came up, that Archie would have to be the one to answer awkward questions. As much as Neal could just suck it up and tell Dave, Archie wasn't risking as much as Neal would be. It was typical and slightly unfair, given who had started this whole thing, that Neal was going to have to break the silence. Maybe he could just deflect Dave's questions and hope for the best.  
  
Dave shrugged a little. "I don't know." He looked uncomfortable, like he was seeing something, but he wasn't sure if anyone else could see it. "Archie seems a bit distant and I don't know why. And he says he hasn't seen you in a while. And by that, I'm assuming he means before I got back from the conference. He hasn't wanted to get together with us lately. So I'm asking you, did something happen?" He had a slightly hopeful look on his face, as though he was a man with questions that were about to get answered. Yeah right.  
  
"No." Neal thought about it, and the answer was honest enough. Nothing had happened. Almost happened, sure. If he had a say in it, yeah, it would have happened. But it didn't. If Dave wanted to know why Archie was acting strangely, he'd have to confront Archie.  
  
Dave's face dropped a little. "Oh. Okay."  
  
Neal went back to his papers. He only got through a page before Dave spoke up again.  
  
"I just wonder if I'm doing something wrong."  
  
"What?" He looked back up, to see Dave staring out the window with a troubled look on his face. "The fuck are you talking about?" he mumbled.  
  
Dave looked back at him. "Maybe I screwed something up, and I don't know what it was. Maybe he's avoiding me."  
  
Neal wanted to roll his eyes. "You're an idiot," he said, flatly. "That kid's nuts about you."  
  
"Then why..."  
  
"You'll have to ask him why. It's for him to tell." Neal motioned down to the pile of papers in front of him. "Can I get back to work now?"  
  
"Yeah," Dave replied, calculating look on his face. Neal ignored it and went back to work.  
  
~~~  
  
Neal wasn't about to admit to anyone the real reason he was staying in his office so late every evening. Maybe he didn't even know the real reason himself. Perhaps it was a combination of things: dark condo at home where he was alone with his thoughts, versus a dark office where he was also alone with his thoughts, but at least he could get work done while he was there, right? Besides, it ensured that he wouldn't accidentally run into Archie on his way out of the building.  
  
Neal sighed and set the journal aside. He'd worked for hours on student work, but now that he'd finished those (probably leaving the most detailed feedback any of them would ever see), he had been at a loss for what to do to occupy his time. He had plenty of music journals lying around, and if arcane knowledge and complicated theoretical arguments couldn't keep his attention, who knew what would. He leaned back in his chair, stretching his back muscles, and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Dave hadn't stopped by for a while and when they had interacted, he seemed distant. Neal didn't know if it was a sign that he had asked Archie what had happened and gotten his answer after all. Neal wasn't sure how to fix it, except to try and let it blow over. That was his game plan, and he was gonna stick to it.  
  
He sat back up and reached for the next journal on the pile. He'd just opened to a boring looking article on the history of orchestral percussion when a quiet knock came at his door. Neal glanced at his clock, surprised that anyone would still be around at - 9:43. Maybe it was a building worker, making sure someone just hadn't left the light on or something. He got up and strode to the door.  
  
Archie stood in front of him, looking tired, with his hand poised to knock again. "Hi," he said, simply.  
  
Neal reached up to rub the back of his neck. "Hey."  
  
They stood in awkward silence for a moment, before Archie half-gestured to the room. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"  
  
Neal stared for a second, before wordlessly nodding and opening the door wider to allow Archie entrance. He looked his fill of Archie as he walked past Neal. He looked good, there in the dim light.  
  
Archie stopped on the other side of the room, and seemed to steel himself before turning around. Neal guessed that this might be a conversation that they needed to have in private, not that there were many people in the building, but he closed the door anyway.  
  
Archie didn't say anything for several minutes, which made Neal think a bit wildly if this was maybe a friendship version of "it's not you, it's me, except it really is you" or if Archie was somehow looking for an apology from Neal. And that was something Neal was definitely not going to give. He wasn't sorry they'd almost kissed, and he wasn't sorry for how he felt about Archie. Neal crossed his arms in front of him, preparing to take a defensive position.  
  
"I'm sorry Neal," Archie began.  
  
Okay, so he hadn't prepared himself to _receive_ an apology.  
  
"I was dealing with something personal, and it wasn't fair to you that I've been ignoring you. I've been a bad friend, and I hope you'll forgive me." He looked up at Neal then, eyes wide and honest.  
  
"Arch, you don't have to-"  
  
"Yes, I do," he said firmly. "I feel horrible about it." Then, as if realizing that Neal was angrier than he realized, he said "And maybe you don't want to forgive me, maybe you thought I overstepped boundaries, and if that's the case, then I'm sorry that I almost. That I almost kissed you," he said hurriedly. "But you don't have to worry, because it won't happen again."  
  
"I'm not," Neal said in reply.  
  
Archie looked up from where he'd been studying the floorboards. "Hmm?"  
  
"I'm not sorry." Neal shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry for."  
  
"But I-"  
  
"Wasn't just you. But it's okay. I know you and Dave have a thing going on, and you guys deserve each other." It was true, even though it hurt a little for Neal to say it aloud.  
  
Archie looked like they had completely switched conversational topics without anyone telling him; he was clearly off his planned script here. "Neal. I'm, I'm sorry. I had no idea." He looked worried about the revelation.  
  
"Nah," Neal threw out, small smile on his lips. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."  
  
Archie bit his lip, and Neal suddenly couldn't drag his eyes away. "Neal, I just want you to know. If things were different." Archie seemed at a loss for words for a minute. "I just, I really like you," he managed to burst out. "But I can't do anything, and it's not fair to you and it's not fair to Cook."  
  
Neal held up a hand. "Archie. I wouldn't ask you to. I like you too, and I respect you." He wanted to make this clear; he was perfectly capable of being friends with someone who didn't want him back. He'd had years of experience at that sort of thing, he thought dark humoredly.  
  
Archie gave him a soft smile. "Still friends?" he asked.  
  
"Of course."  
  
Archie grinned at him brightly as he said it, and moved forward. Neal moved aside, thinking that Archie was walking past on his way out the door, when Archie walked up to him and wrapped his arms around Neal.  
  
Neal was stunned for a moment, considering the implications of Archie - who didn't touch most people, Neal had noticed - hugging him. Then his brain turned off without asking and he instinctively embraced Archie in turn. Archie was warm and smelled like spices; Neal wondered absently if he and Dave had gone out for Indian. He was pretty much sealing his fate here. Even if Archie and Dave didn't last, it wasn't as though Neal could date either, not if he wanted to be friends with both of them. But Neal was okay with that, he decided.  
  
Archie pulled back and Neal remembered that he had to let go at the last second.  
  
"Cook told me I should come talk to you," Archie said softly. "I'm glad I did."  
  
So he had told Dave, the back of Neal's mind noted. "I'm glad you did too," was the only thing he said in reply.  
  
Archie gave him a last smile, and said "Good night, Neal."  
  
"Night Arch," Neal replied as Archie left his office. He looked at the open doorway for a minute, before glancing around the room, suddenly exhausted. It took a few minutes to collect his things and then he turned off the light and locked the office door behind him, suddenly eager for home and bed.  
  
~~~  
  
After a week of carefully stepping around each other, Neal and Dave finally started eating lunch again, though they didn't say anything about Archie, or Archie and Dave, or Archie and Neal. And that was fine as far as Neal was concerned. He was going to make the effort, all in; he was determined to keep these friendships intact. So when Dave stopped by his office on Tuesday and asked if he was up for a burger at Murphy's, Neal agreed immediately. He wondered if Dave would bring up the elephant in the room, but thankfully, both of them managed to steer around it.  
  
It was over a sandwich in Neal's office when Dave asked if Neal wanted to go out with him and Archie on Friday. There was another open mic night and Archie thought it would be fun to go again. They could grab dinner first and then head over. Dave looked uncomfortable as he brought it up, but Neal resolved not to let this whole thing get in the way. He'd agreed and then quickly changed the subject, to Dave's obvious relief.  
  
Neal wasn't going to lie and say he wasn't nervous as they headed out on Friday, and he tried to not think of the way he felt like a third wheel, walking alongside Archie, who had Dave's arm draped over his shoulder. But once they arrived at the restaurant and he'd had a couple beers, he was feeling better and more relaxed than he had in a while. He even started to laugh at Dave's lame jokes, and nobody laughed at those. He still felt a twinge when Dave and Archie touched, intentionally or inadvertently, but then he looked at Dave's face and was reminded why he was going to be content with what he had. Dave was happy, settled. And hey, it beat watching him dance around blonde coeds, Neal thought as he sipped his drink.  
  
He looked up and caught Archie watching him. Dave was oblivious, he was in the middle of some story about one of his advisees and a hazing prank that had ended up taking place in the hallway outside Dave's office. But Archie had a thoughtful look on his face and it clearly had nothing to do with Erin and the water balloons, which was just about to reach its hilarious conclusion. Neal raised his eyebrows at Archie, wordlessly asking what was up. Archie shook his head a little, still looking confused. Dave slapped the table as he finished his story, and regained Neal's attention. Even though Dave's story was probably more amusing to Dave than anyone else, Neal couldn't help but feel a sense of fondness towards his best friend. Dave had one of those senses of humor that was sometimes on the far side of cheesy, but Neal loved him anyway.  
  
Neal glanced over at Archie with a smirk, inviting him to join in on the joke, when Archie's expression suddenly cleared. He had a look of realization in his eyes, though who knew what that was all about.  
  
"So, are we ready to go?" Dave asked, unaware of whatever Archie had just been working out in his head.  
  
Neal replied with a "Sure."  
  
Archie nodded.  
  
The walk over to the club was brisk due to the cold; Dave cursing at the chill and Archie chiding him for his language. Neal opened the door and the warm air blew out into their faces. The club was full, surprising given the weather. They cobbled together a table and a few chairs from across the room and settled in. The performances hadn't started yet, so Neal took advantage of the break and excused himself to use the restroom, instructing Dave to grab him a beer while he was gone.  
  
Neal took care of his business and began to make his way back to the table. Looking across the crowded room as he walked, he watched as Dave and Archie appeared to be having a serious conversation. Neal stopped where he was, not wanting to interrupt. He watched as Archie said something in a low voice, hand gesturing to the side. Dave responding, looking a little tense. He looked worried. Anxious. Archie's expression turned pleading. Dave turned back to the stage as Archie continued his end of the discussion. All of a sudden, Neal realized he'd been standing there and staring at them for five minutes and it made him feel a little like a voyeur. He forced himself to continue over to the table.  
  
"No drinks?" he commented as he approached.  
  
Dave looked up at him quickly, as Archie stopped talking. Then, without saying a word, he got up and strode to the bar, a tight smile on his face and a "coming right up" on his lips. Neal watched him go and then turned down to Archie, hoping to get across his question without having to actually ask anything. Archie just shook his head and Neal sat down.  
  
Neal wasn't sure what happened, but the rest of the night was tense. Dave seemed to be deep in thought, thumb absently rubbing the side of Archie's neck. Archie wasn't watching the performances either, and his eyes kept flitting from the stage to Dave and back again. Neal was pretty sure he hadn't done anything, and everything had been fine through dinner and after they left the restaurant. Obviously something had happened though. Maybe just a couples spat. But even if he didn't know what was going on, there was no way Neal could relax and enjoy anything, not with the silent drama taking place beside him. After one beer, he decided to head out. He apologized for ditching them, and in a typical response, Archie told him he didn't have to go. To that, Neal just commented that he was tired and he hoped they had a good night. Maybe without him there, they'd be able to talk about whatever was bothering them. Neal certainly didn't need to be present for that. Dave barely looked at him as he said good night and after exchanging a look with Archie, Neal left the club.  
  
He really was tired anyway.  
  
~~~  
  
Neal was standing in his kitchen eating a bowl of cereal when the knock came at the door. Probably the lamest Saturday night he'd seen in a while. Skib had just left for New York that morning, and they'd gone out Friday night, one last combination drinking and speculation session before Andy would leave for another attempt at making it. He'd woken up hungover this morning and spent the day sitting on the couch, watching Monsterquest, playing tug of war with Sixx, and avoiding the pile of drafts awaiting his attention on his end table.  
  
He ate a last spoonful of corn flakes and set the bowl in the sink. Neal made his way to the door, maneuvering around the dog toys on the floor. Whoever he thought might be on the other side: Jehovah's Witness, vacuum salesmen (did they do that door to door nowadays?), his cranky neighbor - he didn't expect to see Dave and Archie when he opened the door.  
  
Archie stood with his hand poised to knock again, while Dave stood behind him with an unreadable expression on his face.  
  
"Neal, hi." Archie said it like he almost expected someone else to be on the other side. Or like he didn't think anyone was going to open the door at all.  
  
"Hey," he replied, looking curiously at Archie and then Dave.  
  
"Can we come in?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, sure. C'mon in." Neal held the door open wider and waved them in, reaching out to kick a toy out of the way. "Sorry about the mess. Sixx doesn't know how to pick up after himself."  
  
Archie grinned. "Did he win tug of war today?"  
  
"Always does," Neal replied. Dave still looked like he wanted to be anywhere else just then.  
  
Archie simply nodded and after that, they all fell silent. Just as Neal was about to speak up, ask what it was they needed, Archie did.  
  
"We wanted to talk to you about something." He had been cheerful and relaxed when they'd come in, but now he looked uneasy.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Well, more to ask you something."  
  
Neal raised his eyebrow at Archie.  
  
"Um, okay. So, when we were out the other night?" He waited for Neal's nod. "Right, so when we were out, were you like, looking at Cook?"  
  
Puzzled, Neal said "Was I looking at Dave?" He glanced over at Dave, who remained silent. Neal started to feel a little uneasy about where this conversation was going. Wait, how was he looking at Dave?  
  
Archie seemed to realize he hadn't quite spelled out what he wanted to say. He waved his hand, as if to knock aside his previous question. "No, I mean. I mean, I was watching you. You looked at him like _I_ look at him."  
  
Neal suddenly felt cold. His eyes moved over to Dave again. Dave just looked curious now. If it was just curiosity and a need to know, then maybe this situation wasn't as horrible as Neal thought it would be. After a few seconds of mental debate, he replied "Yeah." It didn't help his sense of foreboding when Dave didn't respond to what Neal would have thought would be a pretty fucking huge revelation.  
  
Archie simply nodded to himself, as though this confirmed his guess about things.  
  
Well, this was awkward, Neal thought to himself. "You guys want anything to drink?" he asked, desperate for something to do just then.  
  
Dave shook his head silently, and Archie just said "Um, a glass of water would be nice. Thanks Neal."  
  
As Neal got Archie's water, and gave a forlorn look to the can of beer he knew he shouldn't drink just then, Archie found his words in the other room.  
  
"I was thinking, and I think that we're all unhappy about the situation when it doesn't need to be that way. I mean, yeah, it's not - conventional - but I think people should do what makes them happy."  
  
Neal handed Archie his water, and said "What are you talking about?"  
  
Dave spoke up. "He wants to try being together. All of us," he clarified.  
  
Neal just stared at him. Oh yeah, this was going to end badly. "Why," he turned back to Archie, voice cold, "would you want to do that?" No way. It was the ultimate pity fuck and no way was Neal gonna fuck around with friendship just to get laid. And what in the world could Dave be thinking, to let Archie bring this up? Obviously he didn't value their friendship as much as Neal did if he was so cavalier with it.  
  
Archie looked lost for a minute under Neal's hard stare and tone, before seeming to pull himself together. "We all know that you like me, and now we all know that I like you. I like _both_ of you," he continued, giving Dave a look. "And I can see that you like, or that you love even - that you love Cook too. Does it have to be that difficult?" His tone had turned pleading. Who knew Archie was that concerned about his love life?  
  
"Forgetting something, aren't you?" Neal said, motioning towards Dave. "You've got us all covered, except that you two are actually dating and I'm not going to force myself on either of you, especially someone who doesn't want me." He kept his eyes on Archie. He could feel Dave looking at him, but he didn't think he could take feeling that pathetic. His mind flashed to the three of them together, hands barely touching him and the whole time with eyes averted, minds thinking of other things, other people. Knowing that Dave knew how he felt and was ready to do this anyway was a new kind of painful.  
  
Archie reacted silently to that, and simply turned towards Dave, who uneasily spoke up. "That's not really true." He rubbed along the back of his neck. "I've had...feelings for you since we met. I just didn't think you were into guys and then the time passed and I didn't know how you felt." Neal could hear the apology in his voice.  
  
Neal felt a pain in his chest. This was fantastic. Now Dave knew how he felt, he knew he'd definitely missed his chance, and Archie was trying to set them all up.  
  
"So, to clarify?" Neal looked at Archie, who nodded. "You think that you want to have a relationship with all three of us, even though you hardly have experience with the one you've got? And you think," he turned to Dave "that you want to possibly hurt the relationship you have by sharing your boyfriend with another guy, just because we were stupid when we met each other. Does anyone else think this could end up being really shitty for all involved?"  
  
"Neal -"  
  
"Fuck, Neal, it's not meant to be like that."  
  
"Okay," Neal replied "you tell me what it's meant to be then. Because I think this is just gonna fuck everything up."  
  
Archie held up a hand to Dave, who stayed silent, before saying "Okay Neal. Here's what we're saying. Why don't we just try it, for a night even? We'll make sure that it won't get weird." Archie wore a determined expression on his face as he continued. "I swear Neal, you're my friend no matter what happens between us."  
  
Listening to Archie, Neal felt his resolve falter. He was about to argue again, but Dave spoke up.  
  
"You can't win, Doctor," Dave commented, amused. "We've been discussing this all week, since Archie told me, and I gave in. He's too persuasive." He waited a moment, and got serious again. "We've been friends for a long time Neal. Don't think I take that lightly. I don't take my feelings for you lightly either. And Archie doesn't take anything in any way but seriously." He laughed as Archie gave him an eyeroll. "So, what do you think?" he asked, challengingly.  
  
This was going to end up badly, Neal knew that, but he didn't have quite enough resolve to not do it. Even just once. Maybe if nothing else, he could move on and be happy for Dave and Archie. Maybe it could just be a great time, he'd have an experience to remember, and he'd move on. Or he could be miserable for a long time. His mind flashed to a possible future where jealousy after the fact tore Dave and Archie's relationship to shreds. Great idea, Tiemann.  
  
Neal's mind laid out the facts for him. Archie was attracted to him. Dave claimed to have feelings for him, whatever those may be. If he didn't do this, Dave and Archie would leave, would go home, might be disappointed, and would leave Neal in his apartment, alone with his dog and the sink full of dishes. He and Dave wouldn't talk in the hallways, and it would be awkward seeing Dave and Archie together, knowing that he'd passed up the chance to be with either of them. But if he said yes? If he said yes, maybe he could hold off all the negative effects with enough effort. If it didn't work out, Neal might get hurt but he could be strong enough not to let on. He'd be able to keep these friendships, by determination alone, if nothing else. He could be strong enough not to hurt either of the men standing in front of him.  
  
He met Archie's hopeful eyes, and nodded helplessly. Archie grinned at him, and walked forward. Neal wondered how this was supposed to go. Relationships between two people were complicated enough. Archie stood in front of him. He looked over at Dave, who stayed silent, leaning against the wall. Neal was momentarily thrown by the intense look in his eyes. He looked back down at Archie, in time for Archie to reach up and pull Neal down into a kiss.  
  
Neal froze, not quite expecting it even after the whole conversation had taken place and decision had been made. He felt Archie lean his body into Neal's and his arms reached around Archie's back as he returned the kiss. It felt natural, like it was the way things were supposed to be. It was comfortable, but how, Neal couldn't explain. Neal moved his mouth against Archie's as they both pulled back. Archie smiled at him.  
  
"See?" he asked.  
  
Neal cleared his throat. "Yeah," he said hoarsely. "I see."  
  
He heard a click and looked up to find Dave locking the front door. He walked over to the light and flipped it off, leaving only the fluorescent light from the kitchen filling the room with a dim light. Then he stood in front of Neal, serious expression on his face. "I've wanted to do this for a very long time," he said, before he leaned in.  
  
Kissing Dave was nothing like kissing Archie had been. Where Archie had been a little tentative, but mostly slow and sweet, Dave was all in. He threw their three years of friendship and the accompanying three years of lust into the kiss. It was hot and a little rough and incredibly satisfying.  
  
Neal kissed Dave like he wouldn't be allowed to ever again, holding it so long that they ran out of breath. Dave broke away, breathing hard, and rested his forehead against Neal's. He looked over at Archie, who was smiling softly.  
  
"Come on," he said, holding out his hand to Dave. Dave just nodded and licked his lips. Neal couldn't not notice how red they were already.  
  
Neal's bedroom was dark and Neal felt a momentary regret that he hadn't taken a moment to clean up all his shit that was littering the floor, or bothered changing the sheets. Which was stupid, since how could he possibly know that Dave and Archie would come over and they'd have a threesome. He decided not to worry about the mess, in the name of spontaneity.  
  
The room suddenly lit up as Dave turned on the bedside lamp. "What?" he asked, to Neal's raised eyebrow. "You think I'm gonna miss actually seeing this?" Okay, so he had a point. Fumbling around in the dark seemed ridiculous to Neal too.  
  
Archie was watching him when Neal turned around. Neal felt a moment of surreality as he watched Archie reach out towards him in the low light. Long fingers snuck under the bottom of his shirt, and lifted up, barely brushing the skin underneath. Archie pulled Neal's shirt up and over his head in one smooth motion. He reached out to unbutton Neal's jeans, but Neal's hands got in the way as he tried to unbutton Archie's shirt first. Once Neal's unusually clumsy fingers managed the buttons, he turned to look at Dave. Archie was Dave's; Neal felt like he should get permission or something to even think of touching Archie. Neal felt a smirk rise to his face when he saw Dave, who had dispensed with the formalities and was already down to boxers. He raised an eyebrow  
  
"What?"  
  
Neal shook his head and saw that Archie was smiling at Dave as well.  
  
"Hey, I'm saving time here. C'mon, let's go."  
  
Turned out that asking Dave for permission was a ridiculous idea anyway, because as soon as Neal turned around, he had an armful of Archie, trying to make out and undress him at the same time. For someone who had little relationship experience (at least, that was the impression Neal was under), Archie was really good at this. His mouth was driving Neal crazy, and when Archie broke away from his mouth to get rid of Neal's jeans, Neal actually whimpered.  
  
Neal should have felt vulnerable standing in front of Archie, who was still mostly dressed, but he really didn't. He kicked his jeans away and Archie stood back up, running his hands over Neal's body as he did so. The light touches were driving Neal crazy and by the time Archie was back in front of him, Neal decided that was enough of that. He cupped his hands around Archie's hips and walked him back towards the bed. Neal gently pushed Archie down on his back and crawled up over him. Jesus Christ, how did he get so lucky? Neal leaned down over Archie's neck and sucked gently where the neck met shoulder. Neal heard him groan and felt warm hands run up his sides to his back.  
  
He could sense Dave climb up beside him on the bed, naked except for his shorts. He reached out to stroke Dave's thigh and heard a deep breath being sucked in. Neal began to make his way down Archie's body; he knew exactly where he wanted to start, remembered the many dreams he'd had where they'd been in this position. If this was the only time the three of them were together, Neal wanted to have that memory of it locked away.  
  
Dave leaned forward and Neal could feel lips pressed to his shoulder for a moment before they backed off. Neal sat up and looked at Dave, who simply smiled at him. Neal pulled him in for a quick press of lips before returning to Archie. He backed up enough so that he could pull Archie's jeans off his body, before throwing them on the floor and reaching up for his shorts. He slid his fingers under the waistband of Archie's shorts and carefully slid them down past Archie's cock. He could hear Archie breathing heavier now, watched as his chest heaved up and down with his breathing. Neal looked up, locked eyes with Archie for a moment before sliding his mouth over Archie's cock. Archie let out a loud moan and threw his head back on the pillow. Neal licked around the head of Archie's cock and listened to Archie softly moan above him.  
  
After a moment, the moans were suddenly muffled, and Neal glanced up to see that Dave was leaning over Archie, one arm propping himself up as the other roamed from Archie's face to his neck down to his side as they kissed.  
  
Neal didn't think he'd ever been this hard, with Dave lying next to him and with Archie under him, trying to thrust up but failing as Neal pinned him to the bed. Archie's moans got louder as Neal switched from licking to sucking on Archie's length. He could feel it as Archie got closer to finishing and he pulled off. He had to, this first time (fuck, he _hoped_ it was just the first time, not the _only_ time, please) watch Archie come. Stroking Archie with his calloused hand, Neal let him thrust up finally. He muttered "C'mon" and even he could hear how hoarse his voice was. Dave moved his head next to Archie's, watching Neal's hand move with dark eyes, and quietly muttered nonsense into Archie's ear.  
  
Archie suddenly let out a whine and arched up, releasing over his stomach and Neal's hand. Dave suddenly sat up and moved down to Archie's stomach. He started to clean off the come on Archie's stomach with his tongue, which was the hottest fucking thing Neal had ever seen him do. And frankly, he had been in a band with Dave for three years; he was used to seeing him do some pretty fucking hot shit. But any of that was nothing like this.  
  
Neal moved his hand down to jerk himself off. He needed to get off like, yesterday. He was on his way too, when Dave knocked aside Neal's hand and replaced it with his mouth. His hot, perfect mouth. Jesus. It was a good thing Neal was already on his knees because he figured he would have fallen over if he had been standing. Neal reached down with his hands, and lightly touched Dave's head as it moved up and down. He ran his fingers through Dave's hair, and watched as his colored fingernails contrasted with the light brown of Dave's hair.  
  
Archie watched as Dave blew him, hungry look in his eyes. Neal watched as he reached down to touch himself, ready to go again already. Neal didn't blame him. If he had been younger, he probably would gone off at least twice so far. As it was, Neal was ready to explode and he didn't want to do it in Dave's mouth. He grunted and pulled Dave's mouth off his cock. Dave looked up at him curiously, and Neal almost blew just looking at his swollen mouth, slick with saliva and pre-come.  
  
"Can I - I want to."  
  
Dave nodded emphatically. "Jesus, yes. Fuck. Of course."  
  
Then Neal remembered they needed things for that, things that Neal wasn't sure he had in his house. "Shit." He leaned across the bed for the bedside table drawer. Seeing the half-empty tube of lube and a few stray condoms lying in the drawer, Neal almost sent up a silent thanks to whatever deity was watching.  
  
"How do you want me?" Dave had stripped off his shorts and was waiting on the edge of the bed.  
  
Small details, Neal thought. Eyeing Archie, he said "hands and knees." Dave promptly complied, and positioned himself to the side and above Archie on his knees. Neal watched as Dave looked down at Archie and grinned. He got distracted for a moment, watching Archie look at Dave, watching as their lips met again and again. Neal remained that way, feeling a sense of longing to have what they had, until Dave looked up and saw him frozen.  
  
"C'mon Doc, let's go."  
  
Neal shook it off and popped the cap off the lube. He squirted a bit on his fingers and tried to warm it up a little before bending down, and brushing his finger against Dave's entrance.  
  
"Not a girl, Tiemann," Dave said, over his shoulder.  
  
Neal rolled his eyes. Well then. Without waiting any longer, he smoothly slid a finger into Dave, who groaned into Archie's mouth. Neal moved his finger in and out, taking in the warmth of Dave's body against his. He bent over to press his mouth against Dave's back, and licked up Dave's spine as far as he could reach, while pushing two fingers in this time. He spent some time attempting to get Dave ready, but once Dave started pushing back against his fingers, Neal gave it up before it was too late, and pulled his fingers out, to Dave's obvious and vocal disappointment.  
  
"Fuck," he muttered to himself. He wiped his hand on the sheet to wipe off the excess lube before he could open the condom.  
  
"C'mon, c'mon. Faster," Dave said in a strained tone. Archie had reached out and wrapped his hand around Dave's cock.  
  
"Movin' as fast as I can," Neal replied as he carefully rolled the condom onto himself. He slathered some lube on himself and tossed the tube aside. Using his hand to position himself, Neal carefully, _finally_ pushed inside.  
  
Oh God, it was incredible. Neal stilled once he was fully inside and tried to gather the will not to just come while not even moving. When he thought he could move without immediately losing it, he started to pull out and push back in, Dave's whimpers only making it more difficult to hold on. Fuck, how long had he thought about doing this. Felt like forever. Neal closed his eyes and took a minute to just feel.  
  
Dave started to mutter underneath him, Neal's name, Archie's name, completely nonsensical words. Archie was stroking Dave's cock from one end and Neal thrusting into him from the other, Dave moving back and forth and feeling pleasure on both ends. Neal suddenly felt the urge to make Dave feel even better. Changing the angle of his thrusts slightly, Neal felt Dave shiver beneath him and call out hoarsely for more. Neal began to thrust harder and it was only a few minutes later when Dave shuddered and came into Archie's hand. Neal stopped moving for a second, wanting to hold on a bit longer.  
  
He watched as Dave, body now completely relaxed, leaned over to kiss Archie languidly, sliding a hand down to stroke Archie, who was fully hard again from watching them. Neal didn't want to finish, didn't want this to be over, but he'd been going too long. He began to move again, but this time reached a hand out to cover Dave's on Archie's cock. Neal moved his hand in unison with Dave's as he thrust in and out. He was mesmerized by the way Archie moved against their hands, thrusting upwards, and when Archie came again, head thrown back and neck muscles straining, there was no way Neal could hold back. He came into the condom, and collapsed against Dave's sweat slick back, breathing heavily.  
  
He caught his breath back and sat up long enough to remove and tie off the condom before collapsing on his back at Dave's side. Neal stared at the ceiling, knowing that he should feel really fucking awesome just then, but instead he kinda felt shitty.  
  
He must have been broadcasting his emotions on his face because a second later he felt Dave hit him in the shoulder.  
  
"Would you relax?" Dave leaned over and kissed him, dipping his tongue into Neal's mouth, allowing Neal to taste Archie on his tongue. "We're not going anywhere." He propped himself up on his elbow to look at Neal.  
  
"You don't know that," Neal replied blankly.  
  
"Neal," Archie spoke up from the other side of Dave. "I told you. It's going to be okay." He smiled at Neal. "I promise." And maybe he figured Dave was right, or maybe Archie just had so much conviction in his voice that you had to believe him, but a little bit of Neal started to hope. That was something, anyway. He turned and curled up behind Dave, reaching his hand across so he could feel Archie there too. They fell asleep that way, a bit more hopeful than either of them had been a few hours previous.  
  
~~~  
  
_Epilogue_  
  
They had to rush to find their seats in the auditorium, having been backstage too long. They'd met with their own students, but most of the time had been spent with Archie. ("We just wanted to make sure you weren't nervous. Because there's no reason to be nervous," Dave had said. Archie had simply rolled his eyes. Neal could tell he was nervous though.)  
  
Neal was quietly speculating on one of his students' employment prospects, as Dave quietly said "Excuse me, thank you, excuse me" as they pressed their way through people to get to their seats.  
  
Eventually they squeezed by enough people and reached the end of the faculty section. Dave threw a small wave across to Brooke, sitting a few seats to the left, her husband by her side.  
  
"Can't believe we're finally here," Dave muttered, tilting his head to Neal.  
  
"Yeah," Neal replied. "I don't remember grad school taking so long."  
  
Dave chuckled softly, and then commented "Yeah, but you didn't have the distractions Archie has. Pretty sure I would have finished later too, if I had us hanging around."  
  
The side of Neal's mouth twitched upwards. That was true enough. He reached a hand up to adjust his tie. The times where he had to dress up were few and far between, and as much as he wanted to be here to see Archie perform, he was anxious to get home and have someone help him get rid of this tie.  
  
As if Dave could read his thoughts, he leaned over and whispered "Just a couple hours Doc." Neal couldn't suppress a shiver as the words hit his ears. Even after all this time, he was still as stuck on Dave as ever.  
  
By the time Neal regained control of himself, the auditorium had dimmed and the first student had come onstage. He settled into his seat, ready for the long night.  
  
~~~  
  
Intermission was a welcome break. Only a few of the performers so far had been his or Dave's students, so it was mostly a waiting game for the two of them. Archie was scheduled midway through the second half. Neal and Dave made small talk with Brooke and a few other members of the department, and Neal remembered why he hated small talk. Dave was just telling someone about his new office when the lights around them dimmed, then rose again, bringing the crowd back inside the room.  
  
They found their seats again and Dave reached for Neal's hand, threading their fingers together. He grinned at Neal, and turned back towards the stage.  
  
Archie was the third performer, and as he walked onstage, Dave's hand tightened around his and Neal had to remind himself to breathe. Even after so many years, with the three of them together, Neal still found Archie breathtaking. Dressed in a simple light gray button down shirt, his dark gray tie neatly pressed, he had changed so much since the day Neal saw him in that mixer, but in other ways, he hadn't changed at all. Neal watched as Archie strode to the piano, maturity showing clearly in every movement. He sat down, and bowed his head momentarily - in a short prayer, Neal knew. Then he took a deep breath, and began to play.  
  
Neal was mesmerized. He and Dave had been privileged to hear snippets of this work, but never the whole thing. Archie had been adamant; they would hear it for the first time in its entirety at the recital. And now Neal knew why. Interspersed throughout were references to times, events in their joined lives. Hard, pounding tones bringing to mind their initial meeting, their tumultuous coming together, and their infrequent fights over minute details; the little fights every couple had, about taking the trash out, and doing laundry, and making sure the car already had a full tank on rainy days. Sweet slow movements signifying their feelings every time they lay in bed together, on quiet nights, alternately talking and touching, two ganging up on one to give pleasure, to make him forget about a rough day. Joyful, ringing tones came next, rich with happiness and contentment. The story of their lives together, these past six years, with a hint for what may come in the future.  
  
Neal dragged his eyes away for a moment, to meet Dave's. Dave had tears streaming down his face. Of course he did. Neal just smiled at him and passed over a handkerchief before he turned back to watch the other love of his life. Thoughts of the morning after that first time played out in his mind; waking up to find Dave and Archie curled up on either side of him, eating breakfast that first morning, the first few weeks of their trying, and succeeding, to convince Neal of the permanence of their relationship. He couldn't have possibly imagined this would be the result, all those years ago, but now, feeling Dave pressed up against his side, and Archie's bright form playing his heart out on that stage, he couldn't possibly imagine anything else.


	3. It's Oh So Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A morning after sequel to Product of Us. Originally published on LiveJournal (probably) in 2011.

Neal wasn’t sure what woke him up, but it could have been sheer mental panic, if the sight in front of him when he woke up was any indication. The sun blazed through the window, highlighting the clothing strewn about the room and the messy sheets that couldn’t fully cover three people, no matter how close together they pressed themselves. Dave lay next to him; Archie on the other side, both still soundly sleeping.  
  
Neal sat up and ran a hand through his hair, letting out a silent ‘whoosh’ of breath as he did so. Carefully extricating himself from the pile of bedding, he quietly snagged a pair of boxers and a t-shirt from his dresser drawer before slipping out into the hallway. He tried to push off the anxious feelings as he entered the bathroom.   
  
Although he showered quickly, he couldn’t stop the thoughts that were zooming around his head. What had happened, where would they go from there? Was there even going to be a ‘them’? How in the world had Archie convinced him to do this? And the images from last night, my god. If Dave and Archie hadn’t been there when he woke up, Neal would have thought he’d dreamed it all, in a fit of angst-induced insanity.  
  
After spending as much time as he dared under the hot spray, Neal turned off the tap and took a moment to breathe. Time to face whatever would come.  
  
Neither Dave nor Archie was in bed when Neal passed by the bedroom. Feeling a sense of trepidation, he made his way out to the living room.  
  
“Hey Neal.”  
  
He avoided meeting Archie’s eye at first, choosing instead to greet Sixx as his massive dog walked over to get his good morning ear scratch. When he’d taken a moment, he stood up and looked over at Archie, who was sitting cross legged at his dining room table, bowl of cereal placed in front of him, appearing relaxed and content with the world in his shorts and tshirt. “Morning,” he replied, a little uncertainly. “Where’s...?”  
  
Archie gave a nod to the kitchen, and as if in response, something clattered to the floor in the other room.  
  
“Doc, we’re gonna have to do some shopping if you expect anyone to eat breakfast here,” Dave wandered into the room, attention on the box of Wheaties in his hand. “What’s with this ‘adult’ food, anyway?” He looked over at Neal and made a face.  
  
“What’s wrong with Wheaties?” Archie asked.  
  
“Nothing,” Dave replied. “If you like tasteless bran flakes for breakfast. And you’re 50.”  
  
Amused, Neal watched Archie raise an eyebrow at Dave and then give a pointed look at his cereal bowl.  
  
“Well,” Dave said, backpeddling quickly. “Not that there’s anything wrong with flakes, I guess. To each his own.”  
  
Neal decided to take pity on his best friend. “I happen to like Wheaties,” he said, taking the box from Dave’s hand. “But we can pick you up a box of Corn Pops, if you want to revisit your childhood or something.”  
  
Neal mostly ignored Dave as he extolled the virtues of sugary cereal as he poured his own bowl. It was...comfortable. It was as though nothing had changed, even though everything had. Hell, he’d just made a reference to joint grocery shopping, for fuck’s sake.  
  
“I was going to jump in the shower with you,” Dave said, pulling out Neal’s toaster from underneath the cupboard. “But Archie said your place probably didn’t have a shower big enough for three grown men and that I would be doing you a favor by not causing us all fatal injuries.”  
  
Okay, so that was different.  
  
There was a moment of silence, where Archie had gone back to his cereal, Dave messed with his toast, and Neal had no clue what to say. He cleared his throat.  
  
“Gonna go have a smoke,” he said, thumbing backwards at the door.  
  
Archie nodded and Dave hummed and Neal escaped out to his front stoop. Some of the tension he was carrying inside his chest released as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. He closed his eyes to enjoy the moment of quiet. There was the question of what should he do now. Judging by Archie and Dave’s reactions, nobody was feeling any sort of regret for his actions the previous night. And well, Neal still almost thought he’d dreamed it. Hard to be negative on a day like this, after a night like that, he pondered as he put his cigarette out on the step and stood up.  
  
The door opened quietly behind him, revealing a fully clothed Archie, juggling keys and wallet as he came outside.  
  
“Hey,” he smiled brightly at Neal. “I have to go. I’d stay, but I sort of committed to helping at this soup kitchen for lunch.”  
  
Neal looked him over. “You could shower here, before you go, if you want.” Archie didn’t look too much like he’d spent the night having multiple rounds of sex, but he probably didn’t smell like roses or anything.  
  
Archie shook his head. “I’ll just do it at home before I run over there. Cook’s in there now, making a racket.” He grinned at Neal. “He’s probably one of the few people who sounds better when he’s *not* in the shower.”  
  
Neal snorted. He didn’t really know, personally.  
  
“Cook said something about dinner, so I’ll see you later?” Archie squinted up at him. “That’s if you’re free?”  
  
“No better plans,” Neal said, uncertainly.  
  
“Okay,” Archie said, just before he reached up and curved his hand around the nape of Neal’s neck, bending him forward to a height he could reach. Archie’s body leaned up into Neal’s as he pressed their mouths together in a firm kiss. Neal tried to keep the moment going, but a too-short minute later, Archie pulled back. “See you later, then.” Neal was gratified to hear that touch of breathlessness in Archie’s voice. He watched Archie walk away and a little bit of something unclenched in his chest.  
  
Reentering his house, he found Dave sitting on the couch, freshly showered, laptop open in front of him. He looked up and smiled softly at Neal. “Hey.”  
  
“Hey,” Neal gestured to the laptop. “What’s up?”  
  
Dave shrugged. “Wanna go see a movie?” He looked over at Neal, sly smile creeping over his face. “We could make out in the back row, if you want.”  
  
Neal could think of much worse ways to spend an afternoon.


End file.
